Antique Shibayama Button Japanese Barn Swallow Inlaid Carved Pearl Horn Bead Eye
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Photographs are enlarged, so please note any measurements and view the ruler or coin (when included) for scale. Also, pictures are often taken both with and without a flash to try and capture colors as accurately as possible, but still may not be true to life on your monitor. An old shibayama button featuring a graceful Japanese barn swallow in flight. The bird was skillfully carved from horn and mother of pearl, with a tiny yellow metal bead for an eye. This fairly thick and gently domed button measures about 1 3/16" (NBS medium), and has a carved and drilled self shank. It doesn't have a separate, threaded turret shank; there were no shortcuts taken when making this tiny work of art. This button is in fair/good condition, being sold as is due to the missing piece where the "chin" of the bird is. It would have been red, and faint traces are visible when magnified. I don't think it was a piece of inlay, but rather some sort of malleable material? (That is just a guess.)There is also some old insect damage around the beak. This is very difficult to see even with magnification, as it only affects a thin, top layer of the horn; this area is now slightly roughened. I've shown both of these issues circled in green in one of the final photos. The missing chin is noticeable in most of the pictures, but the insect munching is not. The button
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