Description KOMIN: A SILVER INLAID SHIBUICHI YATATE, MEIJIBy Sugiura Komin (1865-1946), signed Komin 光珉with kaoJapan, late 19th century to early 20th century, Meiji Period (1868-1912). The yatate comprising a fudezutsu (brush holder) with brush, and a sumitsubo (inkwell) with hinged lid and silver fittings, the lid incised with a manzaishi (storyteller) holding a mask inlaid in copper and gold, signed KOMIN and with kao.Condition: Very good condition, minor wear, and casting flaws. Provenance: The Strong National Museum of Play, accession number 78.1614 (lacquered to the interior 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: 62 gDimensions: Length 15.5 cmSugiura Komin is listed in Robert E Haynes, The Index of Japanese Swords Fittings and Associated Artists, vol. A-K, p. 715, reference H 03459.0. He was a student of Kashima Ikkoku. Sugiura Komin excelled in inlay and katakiri-bori engraving.