An inlaid iron cigarette caseBy the Komai Company of Kyoto, Meiji era (1868-1912), late 19th/early 20th century
Worked in typical gold overlay with an adult bear and young standing on one side and a foreign sailing ship on the reverse, all reserved on a plain matt black damascened ground, the inside plain and inscribed with a dedication in German (To the old 'grumble-bear', to remember his loyal friend, June 1911, Block[?]) signed on the reverse Koma within a square seal. 8.1cm x 9.3cm (3 3/16in x 3 5/8in).