λ A COLLECTION OF FORTY-THREE JAPANESE BEADS, OJIME

EDO AND MEIJI PERIOD, 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY

Strung as a necklace and made of mixed materials including ivory, coral, aventurine, glass, metal and others, variously depicting figures, animals, objects and abstract designs, two in wood inlaid with mother of pearl, coral, horn, and ivory and signed Shibayama, some others also with signatures, 2.5cm max. (43)

Provenance: from the collection of Richard Gordon Smith (1858-1918) and thence by descent. Gordon Smith was an English traveler, sportsman and naturalist who lived in Japan at the turn of the century, recording his experience in his "Ill-Spelled Diaries" and transcribing traditional myths which he later published in "Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan" (1908). Entries from his diaries were published in "Travels in the Land of the Gods: The Japan Diaries of Richard Gordon Smith" (1986) and include an illustration of a comparable ojime necklace.