Flower-shaped Negoro Tray (Kōban) with Three Feet

Japan

Not on view

With a petal-shaped rim and an openwork base, this tray represents the high esteem in which medieval Japan held imported Chinese works of art (karamono). Such precious objects from the Song and Yuan periods (960–1368) came to Japan in the Kamakura (1185–1392) and Muromachi periods with the introduction of new schools and teachings of Buddhism, especially Zen. Negoro ware trays like this one, inspired by Chinese examples, were made by Japanese craftsmen beginning about the mid-thirteenth century. Those with a high foot were typically used with tenmoku tea bowls to serve tea.

Flower-shaped Negoro Tray (Kōban) with Three Feet, Wood with coatings of red over black lacquer (Negoro ware), Japan

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Flower-shaped Negoro Tray (Kōban) with Three Feet, Wood with coatings of red over black lacquer (Negoro ware), Japan
Flower-shaped Negoro Tray (Kōban) with Three Feet, Wood with coatings of red over black lacquer (Negoro ware), Japan

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