Tied at the waist in traditional Japanese dress, an inro is a small, decorative case used to carry medicine or small items such as seals.  A netsuke, often carved from ivory or wood, is the weight used to prevent the inro from slipping through an obi, the sash of a kimono.  Inro and netsuke were designed to delight those who took the time to examine their miniature detail, and on this example, the artisan used mother-of-pearl, coral, and lead to depict a Japanese lantern plant on one side and seed pods on the other. The netsuke is made from ivory, and the ojime, the bead, is a white stone. Isabella displayed seven inro in the Little Salon, many of which she probably purchased on her trip to Japan in 1883.