Description TANSAI: A BRASS 'BUDDHIST LION' YATATE, EDOBy Tansai, signed Tansai saku 旦斎作Japan, 19th century, Edo Period (1615-1868). The yatate comprising a fudezutsu (brush holder) decorated with scrolling vines issuing leaves, framed by key-fret borders, and a sumitsubo (inkwell) with hinged lid in form of a jar with handle, decorated with the same motif, the lid with a Buddhist lion. Signed to the interior of the lid TANSAI saku.Condition: Very good condition, minor wear, and casting flaws. Provenance: The Strong National Museum of Play, accession number 78.1558 (lacquered to the base of the inkwell). Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897-1969) grew up in a prosperous family of collectors. Her interests ranged so widely that by 1960 she had amassed more than 27,000 collectible items and works of art. The vast majority of her collections related in some way to play and as her accumulation grew, Margaret planned a museum to house her collection. It eventually opened to the public in 1982, and grew dramatically over the following decades, expanding its collections, facilities, and resources, now spanning over 285,000 square feet. Today, the Strong National Museum of Play (known as just The Strong Museum or simply The Strong) is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to the study of play.Weight: 104 gDimensions: Length 17.8 cm