| The Unno school is regarded as one of the finest machibori metalworking lineages from the late Edo to the Meiji period. It produced outstanding masters such as the first and second generations Unno Yoshimori (海野美盛), Moritoshi (盛寿), and the celebrated master Shōmin (勝珉). Their works are noted for bold yet elegant high-relief carving (takaniku-bori), and the school gained great renown in the Meiji metalwork world.This piece is a pair of solid-gold (kin-muku) menuki depicting a slender celestial maiden (Hiten) dancing in mid-air, clad in flowing heavenly robes and holding a shō (mouth organ) and sacred flowers (tenge).The fittings were attributed to the Unno school as mumei (unsigned) and passed the NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon Tōsōgu examination in 2013. |
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