Pipe and Pipe Case with Tobacco Pouch

Pipe and Pipe Case with Tobacco Pouch

Shibata Zeshin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This elegant lacquer pipe case once hung from its owner’s obi sash, kept in place by the attached netsuke. A fashionable man would have carried a pipe (kiseru), for smoking small servings of finely cut tobacco, in a stylish case (kiseruzutsu) with a matching tobacco pouch (tabako-ire). They served as contemporary fashion accessories and conversation subjects. This two-part case features a maki-e design of wood sorrel, a wildflower similar to clover.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pipe and Pipe Case with Tobacco PouchPipe and Pipe Case with Tobacco PouchPipe and Pipe Case with Tobacco PouchPipe and Pipe Case with Tobacco PouchPipe and Pipe Case with Tobacco Pouch

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.