Round Tray

  • Edo period
  • 17-19c
  • Lacquered wood
  • H-6.2 D-29
Catalogue Entry

A shallow bucket has been transformed into a tray. The thin sheet of hinoki wood has been fitted around a base board, and fastened with bamboo ties in two spots. The box for this tray is inscribed "wood ground tray," and at some stage, this glossy blackened bucket was transformed into a tray for use in the tea ceremony. Murata Juko transformed the aristocratic tea ceremony into a more rustic, austere aesthetic which uses simple, folk utensils, and this tray with its unstudied beauty would have been perfect expression of such a spirit.