| Original Message: How was this bead misrepresented? |
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The ebay cloisonné bead is 20th c. Chinese; and therefore it is not an antique Japanese ojime. It is 20th century. And it would not make a good ojime because the aperture has a cutting edge rather than a smooth one for non abrasion of an inro cord. Many ojime sellers, even in Japan, persist in calling these Ojime. This happens so often, I have had to ask myself whether they may have been adapted for functional usage by the Japanese. My conclusion is: It is NOT an adaptation. Besides having an abrasive perforation, these openwork cloisonné beads were made too late to be worn when kimonos required them. It was during the Meiji Era when sumptuary laws forced the Japanese to wear traditional kimonos. Kimonos have no pockets; so, the netsuke, ojime, inro ensemble served as a purse or pocket substitute as late as the Meiji. Since the close of the Meiji Era, kimonos have normally been worn for formal occasions or as a uniform for a specific function. Of course, the Chinese are creating copies of netsuke, ojime and inro in ivory, wood and plastic. But the Chinese openwork cloisonné was never intended to be used as a substitute for an ojime. All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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