Hi everyone,
A friend of mine is currently traveling in Japan and found this beautiful item. He knows I love traditional Japanese crafts and offered to bring it back for me as a gift or for my personal collection.
I am definitely not an expert on these. I only know that they are called Kogai, and that some were used as traditional hairpins while others were used by samurai as sword accessories. I did come across the term Wari-Kogai during my brief research, so I think it might be one of those.
This specific one separates into two pieces right in the middle, and it has a gold/brass color with raised floral designs (looks like chrysanthemums or peonies). It also comes in a wooden box.
I've tried searching online but I can't find anything that looks exactly like this, so I wanted to ask the community for help before making a decision:
- Does this look like a genuine antique or a modern replica made for tourists?
- If you had to put a price on it, what is a fair value/price for an item like this?
I really want to make sure I know what I'm getting into. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much.