A SUPERB SHIBAYAMA INLAID GOLD LACQUER FOUR-CASE INRO DEPICTING KARAKOUnsigned Japan, late 19th century, Meiji period (1868-1912)Each side with a silver-rimmed quatrefoil panel bearing a kinji ground finely inlaid in mother-of-pearl, horn, coral, tortoiseshell, and bone, one side with two karako playing music, one striking a dynamic pose with one foot raised and wearing a Korean-style hat while playing a transverse flute, the other seated on the ground and striking a drum with a mallet held in his hand, a bird-form wheeled toy at their feet, the other side with a karako standing next to a barrel-form stool, holding a fan and feeding a bird on a perch hanging from a gnarled prunus tree, all in a fenced garden with peonies, the surrounding hirame ground decorated in gold takamaki-e and kirigane with kiri mon and chrysanthemum designs. The interior of nashiji with gold fundame edges. The faceted bead-form metal ojime decorated in relief with a peacock amid leafy floral sprays.HEIGHT 8 cmCondition: Excellent condition with minor wear to hirame and very minor general wear.