A Rare And Early Kake Hana-ike [Hanging Flower Vase]

LATE MOMOYAMA/EARLY EDO PERIOD (LATE 16TH/EARLY 17TH CENTURY)

细节

A Rare And Early Kake Hana-ike [Hanging Flower Vase]
Late Momoyama/Early Edo Period (Late 16th/early 17th Century)
Of gnarled wood, perhaps formed from a section of an ancient creeper, a portion of a branch removed to form a cavity for a flower arrangement, simple copper hook-and-eye provided to support a flower spray
16.1/8 x 4¾ x 5.3/8in. (41 x 12 x 13.5cm.)

拍品专文

This is probably the work of a tea master of the Momoyama period at the end of the 16th century. This was when Sen no Rikyu, tea master to Hideyoshi, purged the tea ceremony of the showy extravagances of its recent past, and nurtured in his pupils an appreciation for utensils of humble beauty and elegantly simple surroundings in which to conduct the ceremony. The tea masters of the time often made their own vases, usually from bamboo, and their products are characterised by a sophistication of taste and the use of curious natural forms such as this, simply adapted to their purposes. It is probable that no water container was used within the cavity of this vase and that the spray of blossom it contained, cut freshly from the tree, would simply have lasted for the duration of the tea ceremony.