Chokin was a form of Japanese metalware art with its origins in the late twelfth century. Designs were engraved or etched onto copper or brass and then decorated with precious metals such as gold and silver. Used at first for the decoration of armour the technique was later more widely employed and became popular in the West in the mid to late twentieth century with the production of various ‘limited editions’ of which this is an example. The notice at the back gives the background and the artist Kaygetsu’s (or Kagetsu’s/ Keigetsu’s) name does indeed appear in the inscription at the bottom, the second set of gilt characters repeating his nameseen in the first in archaic seal script. Craftstyles, based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, seem to have been distributors for a range of decorative items (their name is connected also with Cash’s woven fabrics) and the format of the label at the back suggests a dating to the 1970s or 1980s which is when it is believed that Kaygetsu’s studio was in operation.