Vanity Case, 1930

Cartier Paris

The case is an old Japanese inro. Japanese inro is a box with compartments originally used to carry medicine and worn at the waist. Becoming a sign of social status in the 17th century, these were increasingly likely to be made of noble, carefully crafted materials.

Courtesy of Cartier Collection

● Type: Precious box
● Dimensions: 26 H x 4.9 W cm
● Material: Gilded and lacquered wood with mother-of-pearl inlay, gilded silver, nephrite, black enamel, black threads
● Date: 1930

Details: Genealogies of OrnamentExhibition