522. Komai Cigarette Case

Iron & Gold Cigarette Case Signed ‘Komai’

This fine case originally made to hold very fine cigarettes is a beautiful example of Japanese metalwork. In superb condition it is decorated front and back with a hanabishi (geometric flower-shaped rhombus motif) design. (The image above shows the front of the case; the back is similarly decorated.)

The lid and base fit tightly with a well functioning hinge with a push button release mechanism which springs open.

The interior contains in gold inlay the maker’s name – Komai, and Kyoto, Japan, beneath a dragon fly motif.

This motif was commonly used by Komai, a family firm of high-grade metalsmiths who specialised in damascened ironwork (

nunome-zogan).

Pieces by the Komai family can be found in the Victoria & Albert Museum; the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney; the Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Decorative Arts of Meiji Japan; and the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth.