五代早川尚古斎造　四方縁盛物籃|Fruit Tray (Morimono-kago)

Hayakawa Shōkosai V

ca. 1965–77 · Smoked timber, dwarf bamboo, and rattan · Asian Art

This fruit tray represents a modern application of a type of parallel construction that is one of the traditional Hayakawa techniques. The origins of such fruit trays, which are used to hold arrangements of fruits and vegetables in the Japanese art of ikebana, can be traced back to harvest festivals and to ceremonial offerings of fruit set in front of Buddhist icons. Hayakawa masters typically do not apply a lacquer (urushi) finish to their baskets; instead, they submerge finished baskets in a dye bath made from plum tree bark and wood extracts.

Artist

Hayakawa Shōkosai V

Date

ca. 1965–77

Medium

Smoked timber, dwarf bamboo, and rattan

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey, 2019