Description
These cylindrical containers with lids are ivory needle cases shaped by turning on a lathe. They are decorated with motifs such as birds, animals, and flowering plants rendered in a technique called bachiru. Bachiru refers to an ivory-carving technique in which the surface of stained ivory is carved away to reveal the contrasting natural white ivory beneath.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
October 26, 2026