August 2024 Auction

Lot #272:

Incredible shakudo crane on iridescent pearl button with gold details of plant life.

#272. Incredible button. 19th - 20th c. Iridescent pearl with gold details and shakudo crane set in darkened metal. Shakudo is Japanese billon of gold & copper (typically 4–10% gold, 96–90% copper), one of the irogane class of colored metals, which can be treated to develop a black, or sometimes indigo, patina, resembling lacquer, in which gold, silver & copper metals are inlaid in to the metal base. NBS Medium (1 3/16”)