Shibayama is a Japanese town in Chiba Prefecture.
Shibayama is an art form originating in Japan. It involves lacquering objects with semi-precious materials in a very special style. Objects that are generally vases, boxes, and katana cases.
Such objects made in the Meiji* era, because of their delicacy and preciousness, are valued highly and sought after by many collectors.
Shibayama ‘s work is a combination of inlay and relief that marries the two techniques in a way that highlights their most spectacular features.
It was first used in Japan in the 18th century to decorate ornaments and objects for personal use.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal, the distinctive value of the objects made by Shibayama’s artisans lies in the elaborate handwork and painstaking care required in their creation.
Typically the depressions were carved in ivory, exotic woods or lacquered surfaces. These depressions were then inlaid with small amounts of precious materials (mother-of-pearl, tortoise, coral, jade, bone and abalone), thus forming the pattern.
Each inlay is engraved, creating a relief consisting of many pieces.
Nowadays, objects created with the mother-of-pearl inlay technique can be found in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York. Also, among the entries of several major international auction houses ( christies.com, sotheby. com , bonham.com ) are objects decorated by workers using Shibayama’s technique. In Hungary, the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Asian Art specializesin collecting artifacts from the Far East.
Source : http://www.individualjewellery.com
*The Meiji Period is a historical moment in Japan encompassing the 44-year reign of Emperor Mutsuhito. This period runs from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. Wikipedia
