The sixth—and penultimate—annual sale of the late Edward Wrangham’s collection of Japanese art takes place this month at Bonhams’s London saleroom. An environmentalist from Northumberland, England, Wrangham also devoted himself to collecting rare antiques from around the world. He gained particular renown as a connoisseur of inro, then a little-known area of Japanese art. Japanese men wore these ornamental boxes, originally used as containers for small items such as medicine, suspended from a girdle as part of traditional dress. Attributed to Heishusai, this rare two-case inro in blue lacquer embellished with gold powder, painted chrysanthemums and butterflies is expected to sell for between £40,000 and £50,000. Only two other blue lacquer inro are known. This piece dates from the Meiji era (1868-1912), which saw Japan’s transformation from a feudal society to an industrial one.
The Edward Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art, Part VI, Bonhams, New Bond Street, London
10 November