Tray with rice stalks and a grasshopper on a tea kettle 1881 - 1889

"Tray with Rice Stalks and a Grasshopper on a Tea Kettle" is a lacquerware tray created by famed Japanese artist Shibata Zeshin between 1881 and 1889. The tray features a black background with a vibrant red tea kettle adorned with a yellow handle and surrounded by delicate rice stalks and a small grasshopper. Zeshin, known for his masterful use of maki-e (sprinkled gold and silver) and other lacquer techniques, employed these techniques to create a richly detailed and visually striking composition on this small but elegant piece of Japanese art. The tray, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a testament to Zeshin's skill and the enduring beauty of traditional Japanese lacquerwork.