Cigarette holder in iron damascened with precious metals. Japan Meiji

The cigarette holder is made of iron decorated with a damascened dragon in gold, silver and sentoku (copper alloy). On the reverse is represented Mount Fuji damascened in silver, at the bottom right the mint mark as well as the "24 carat gold" guarantee. Japanese cigarette holders from this period are very numerous and of different quality, often simple with landscape decoration, sometimes mediocre, some are even vulgar copies in simply gilded metal, but here we have an absolutely exceptional example. We don't know of any equivalent. Indeed, the quality cannot be exceeded, the metal wires are thick, so the object has stood the test of time without suffering any damage. The presence of sentoku parts whose red-brown color warms the design is unique, we never encounter it on other cigarette holders, the steel base is finely hammered with thousands of impacts (amati) in order to give the iron a velvety appearance, thus completely hiding the scratches necessary for any damascene. Finally the presence of numerous gold dots confirms the excellence of the work, in fact damasking a single point of small surface is technically more complicated than damasking large or long patterns. Good condition, no repairs, patina of original, stained inside. Impact on the back, visible on photos but without impact on the proper functioning of the opening or on the aesthetics.