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This is an extremely rare Japanese bronze card case cast in relief and applied in shakudo; according to Christie's catalogue, it depicts a gentleman pulling an oni by the neck of his robes, the oni dropping a ewer, in a garden amongst lanterns and pipes.

Shakudo is the Japanese term for a low gold content alloy which usually consists of between 2% and 7% gold and the rest copper; sometimes small amounts of other metals are added.

In Japan, an Oni is a demon. Usually depicted with horns and wearing tiger skins, they have no neck, but a crest of hair and a big mouth; their fingers are clawed, and their arms elevated to the shoulders.