tooth blackening container; tray (containers)

Brass tray from a teeth blackening set. It is decorated on the upper surface with a punched and engraved design in three panels, the central one with a landscape, two cranes and a pine tree; the two outer ones have punched stylised chrysanthemum flowers in a noshi style. Three holes have been made in an irregular row.

Tooth blackening was practised in the Edo and early Meiji periods. It was banned in 1870.

Collection Information

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