Matsunoki

One thing to bear in mind….. usually it is better to leave something unrestored than to restore it badly (that applies both aesthetically and financially) Bad restoration can leap at your eyes far more harshly than the consequences of the passing of time. Also be careful when using modern materials especially glues that do not allow a second chance.

Mick, whoever did those legs was seriously good. That is excellent restoration work of the highest quality (imo). They look original to me.

@Davis Mick, did you replace some of those leaves in the first image? which pieces have been replaced in the second image?

This veneer is about 0.3mm thick and very difficult to work on without shattering or cracking. Also it would give you just a flat surface whereas the missing flowers will be several mm thick with quite deep carving. Moulding from an existing good flower will give that depth and detail and probably give a better impression than just a flat surface. Also beware inhaling the dust when grinding….

@hddennis Howard put this into Google search…….. “mother of pearl effect resin moulding” it seems to be possible.

@hddennis Hi Howard without doubt these cabinets were made in workshops by teams of specialists. There would be cabinet makers, lacquerers, carvers etc…..all specialist in their own fields. However one constant was the quality overall. You would not find poor quality flowers (no matter how many of them were needed) on a good quality cabinet. They might not be the same species of flower or the same material but they would all be constant quality. The Japanese would not usually spoil the ship for a ha’peth of tar.Having said that quality did drop and corners were cut in later Meiji all in the pursuit of $$ So imo the remaining flower that you show next to the bird is later. Your cabinet is a large one of complex construction with many quite good inlaid lacquer panels. When new it would have been quite a sight and very expensive. Another option you might want to explore is whether you could find a plastic moulder who could run you off a batch of these possibly even with a mother of pearl effect (as seen in many buttons) He could use the remaining good ones to create a mould. Or maybe even have a go yourself using some of the resin moulding stuff that is available nowadays….but that is way outside of my knowledge! Good luck!

Hi Howard, your cabinet is, as you say, Japanese and dating from the mid Meiji period when such things gained enormous popularity with both the gaijin in Japan and worldwide via a buoyant export market. Some can be mind boggling quality. Yes I have (now retired) spent years restoring such things (as a hobby, not a business) for some of the UK dealers. Missing inlay is obligatory on these! I used to actually carve whatever was necessary….be it shell or coral or ivory etc but it is very time consuming and therefore rather expensive. You need a specialist workshop set-up. I doubt you will find anyone to actually carve replacements nowadays but another trick is to search for simpler panels (made in their 1000s) and very often heavily damaged and thus very cheap. It is sometimes possible to “harvest” elements of inlay that can be adapted far more easily to either fit in or even stuck straight over the top of missing areas. Flowers, leaves etc are common and thus quite straightforward. Faces are a real pain, they hardly ever fit, usually looking the wrong way or the wrong size which usually means a lot of hard work or a vaguely acceptable compromise. The best advice I can offer is to look for panels (auctions etc) in the hope of “do it yourself” repairs.

The women in the bath house is Japanese Meiji tourist….more a small okimono than netsuke The one behind it….an Oni?…..looks more promising, maybe. Image?

Zodiac animal group…..Japanese tourist Meiji.

2 Men smoking…..what Piers said Kingfiser with fish on lotus leaf…..looks resin fake Toads on bamboo shoot….modern Chinese fake Dutch/Mongol archer…poor attempt at a popular Edo subject. Modern. Possibly Chinese but more likely Japanese tourist. Shishi (seal?)..low quality modern. Looks resin but apparently has cracks so not sure …..imo….from images.

@Nobody Moriyama san, many thanks for your time and sharing your knowledge.

What’s wrapped up on the tray? Mochi and black bean paste balls to keep you going?🙂

Said to continue a bronze incense burner. Many thanks in advance! All the best.

Not true Piers. I could have carved a hand hiding the spliced and pegged joint in a crack similar to those just above the break😊

Good afternoon, my name is Carolina, I'm from Argentina, Buenos Aires province. I have to sell this old Katana that was from a great-great-grandfather. I was researching forums and they told me to take the handle out of the katana to see its authenticity, and we found that the blacksmith's signature was from Masamune, I wanted to find out its value since we want to put it up for sale but at its real price. I'll send photos. Thank you very much, I look forward to your reply.