Description

An antique Japanese Yosegi Ko Tansu (marquetry small chest) from the Hakone region made of various natural colored woods with Kusunoki (Camphor), Katsura (Fir) and Suginoki (Cryptomeria) structure and drawer backs. Beautiful craftsmanship is evident in the unique one-of-a-kind design of this piece. 6 drawers of varying sizes allows for easy organizing and storage.

The patterns making up the design include a tiny checker board, the turtle shell, the Crusader’s shield, a diagonal figure eight, and front frame arrows aiming to the left, the right and down. The base frame, sides and top of the chest used a Hakone marquetry technique called Muku where thicker wood was used in the design.

Yosegi is a centuries old traditional Japanese craft that began in the late Edo era. The intricate design is formed by combining different natural colored cut rods of wood by gluing and binding them to make the desired pattern. After the glue has cured, the bound wood is planed cross grain to make sheets of the marquetry pattern that are applied to functional wooden crafts and art objects. The final result is a beautiful work of art that epitomizes Wabisabi (the art of understated elegance).

Age: Late Meiji-Taisho (1910-1920)

Dimensions: 14 1/4″ Wide by 14″ High by 5 5/8″ Deep