A FINE METAL-INLAID GOLD LACQUER FOUR-CASE INRO DEPICTING RATS AND HORSESUnsigned Japan, 19th centuryThe kinji ground finely decorated in gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e with kirikane, nashiji, and beautifully inlaid in gold, shibuichi, and shakudo to depict on one side a flowerpot with blossoming prunus branches, two rats eating beans from the ground, and a third rat gnawing on a branch bearing fruit, and to the other a pair of horses in a field with chrysanthemums and grasses. The interior of nashiji with gold fundame edges. HEIGHT 9.3 cmCondition: Good condition with minor wear to lacquer and some occasional light scratches throughout. Some dents to the top and bottom caseThe rat and the horse represent opposite signs in the Asian zodiac and as such are considered incompatible. However, if the ‘younger’ of the two signs (the horse) submits to the ‘older’ (the rat), then the pairing can be successful. They two are occasionally depicted together in inro and netsuke art.