Help identify school of Menuki

[Jack Zacao]

Here are a pair of Menuki of geese design. They were repurposed into earrings in the first half of last century. The workmanship is excellent but I do not know the school or possible maker because there are no signature or Kao. Any comments are welcome.

[Charlie C]

How long are these?

[Jack Zacao]

these are 4.9cm long, way bigger than average.

i guess they were made in meiji period.

[Charlie C]

16 hours ago, Jack Zacao said:

these are 4.9cm long, way bigger than average.

i guess they were made in meiji period.

Same guesses here, no earlier than 幕末. The complexity of decoration, the plate's thickness, and the size all pointed to the second half of the 19th century. I personally couldn't find any info leading to a specific school.

[Jack Zacao]

On 11/17/2025 at 3:41 PM, Charlie C said:

Same guesses here, no earlier than 幕末. The complexity of decoration, the plate's thickness, and the size all pointed to the second half of the 19th century. I personally couldn't find any info leading to a specific school.

Thank you Charlie for your comments. could you please elaborate on what you mean by ‘ complexity of decroation’? Base on the color, I think it is made of shibuichi and the gold eyes and feathers are 象嵌，which i learned recently. The beek is gilding? the belly is of silver color and with black feather, possibly shakudo inlay. please let me know what you think. Thanks.

[Exclus1ve]

I can only see gilding, not inlay. However, the feathers on the belly look like shakudo inlay. Is it possible to take clearer photos from different angles?
 

Here is a good example of gold inlaying on the spots on the body. At first glance, it seems simple, but it is actually quite elegant.

 

However, I can see that the eyes are covered with gold, especially on the second pair.

Edited November 19 by Exclus1ve

[Charlie C]

13 hours ago, Jack Zacao said:

Thank you Charlie for your comments. could you please elaborate on what you mean by ‘ complexity of decroation’? Base on the color, I think it is made of shibuichi and the gold eyes and feathers are 象嵌，which i learned recently. The beek is gilding? the belly is of silver color and with black feather, possibly shakudo inlay. please let me know what you think. Thanks.

Geese have been a common motif for menuki but differentiating the belly from the back with silver is a technique only observed in later days. This is purely personal empirical observation, though.

 

From the current photos it's hard to tell if the feathers are inlay, but the beak and feet are probably gilding.

[Jack Zacao]

Thank you both for the informative comments.