A silk gift cover featuring tabane noshi and houju (treasure ball) motifs constructed of metallic couched threads on a background of shuso silk. Good condition, with several areas of deterioration along the fold lines. 25" x 28". Tabane noshi , or dried abalone is full of nutrients, and it was an important food, often used as a ritual offering to the gods at New Years. Therefore, tabane noshi has become an auspicious motif found on formal items. 'Noshi' sounds like the Japanese word for '"expand" or "progress"... [and so] came to be an auspicious symbol of the continuation of the family line.' Tabane noshi are a common motif in "back protectors," charms embroidered onto the back of children's garments that lack a center seam to repel evil influence.