Ha-Bon

Sencha tray in the shape of a winnowing basket

Anonymous

Kansai region

While it appears at first glance to be a woven basketry, this tray is actually a wooden sculpture imitating a bamboo winnowing tray. Here the sculptor wanted to magnify “old things” by reproducing
the accidents and wear and tear of age.

Should we see in this trompe-l’oeil a metaphor for our own condition and the passage of time or simply a deep respect for the object of everyday life and the hand of the craftsman?