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Inro En Suite: Porcelain Miniatures by Armin Muller and Lynn Richardson

These elegantly carved accessories illustrate the Japanese dictum that function be beautiful and that beauty be functional. Inro en suite consist of an inro, a sectional container, usually for medicines; an ojime, a bead fastener allowing the inro to open and close; and a netsuke, a toggle or counterweight that hangs over an obi sash to keep the ensemble in place. These objects were used to hold small personal belongings and to serve as status symbols by primarily upperclass men (warriors, nobility, clergy, and merchants) during the Edo (1603-1868) and Meiji periods (1868-1912). Although functional accoutrements of kimono apparel--which lacked pockets--inro ensembles also were superbly crafted in a variety of materials, including wood, ivory, and metal.

The custom of wearing inro en suite began to wane in the late 19th century as the Japanese adopted Western attire. Nevertheless, their popularity as works of art has grown over this century, especially among American and European collectors. Although no longer used, these accessories, especially netsuke, are still made in traditional as well as new materials by Japanese and other artists.

Santa Barbara ceramists Armin Muller and Lynn Richardson carve inro, netsuke, and ojime out of Japanese Arita porcelain. The technique of meticulously creating these one-of-a-kind miniatures out of pure white kaolin using sharp knives and dental tools is relatively rare. Achieving their richly colored glazes is equally delicate and complex. Each clay sculpture may require as many as six consecutive firings.

Like their Japanese counterparts, Muller's and Richardson's works draw on the subjects of haiku poetry and Japanese mythology as well as representing aspects of the natural and animal worlds.

To see how Inro en Suite was worn, select the Diagram of Inro en Suite.