Small Serving Tray with Spearflower Design by Attributed to Yamamoto Shunshō VI

Small Serving Tray with Spearflower Design c. late 18th century

0:00

wood

japan

orientalism

wood

decorative-art

Dimensions: 2 1/2 × 10 3/4 × 10 3/4 in. (6.35 × 27.31 × 27.31 cm)

This small serving tray with spearflower design was crafted in Japan around 1803, attributed to Yamamoto Shunshō VI. Notice the composition: a striking contrast between the glossy black lacquer and the detailed, colourful inlay. The spearflower design is asymmetrically placed, creating a visual balance with the negative space. The plant's delicate leaves and berries, rendered in shades of brown and red, offer a tactile impression against the smooth, reflective surface. The tray embodies the Japanese aesthetic principle of wabi-sabi—finding beauty in imperfection and simplicity. The tray challenges the traditional idea of utility by elevating an everyday object to a work of art, questioning fixed categories of art and design. This careful arrangement of form and colour invites us to reconsider our relationship with functional objects, transforming them into sites of aesthetic contemplation and deeper cultural meaning.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart over 1 year ago

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Originally from a set of ten, the five trays on display here show a variety of plant motifs associated with the seasons, and executed in hiramaki-e (low sprinkled picture) with gold and pigmented powders. The bottom of one of the trays bears the seal “Shunshō,” for the family of lacquer artisans. The Shunshō school was established by Yamamoto Shunshō (1610–1682) and continued on until the end of the 19th century. Shunshō I was well known for his mastery of the togidashi-e (polished out picture) technique, which is used on these pieces. However, the naturalism of the plant designs indicates that this is a later piece by either Shunshō V (Jirobei, b. 1734) or VI (Masanori, d. 1803).