Natsume Tea Caddy

early 17th century

Japanese

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About the Artwork

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

This small but striking lacquered wooden tea caddy would have introduced a graceful note of richness into the stark simplicity of the Japanese tea room. It is a container for fine powder green tea (matcha) used in the tea ceremony for thin tea (usucha). It is named after the natsume or jujube fruit, which has a similar shape. Natsume are first recorded as being used by important tea ceremony masters in 1563. Natsume extensively decorated in gold later became an indispensable part of the tea ceremony. This is one of the most dazzling and well-preserved extant natsume of the Edo period. It is in the Kodaiji maki-e style, in which dramatic effects are created through zigzag lines dividing the surface into black and gold areas. From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Natsume Tea Caddy

Artwork Date early 17th century

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Japanese

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Japanese

Medium Black lacquer on wood

Dimensions Overall: 2 9/16 × 2 1/2 × 2 5/8 inches (6.5 × 6.4 × 6.7 cm)

Classification Wood and Woodcarving

Department Asian Art

Credit Museum Purchase; gifts from Henry G. Stevens, Mrs. Byron C. Foy in memory of her father Walter P. Chrysler, by exchange

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2014.37

Markings

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Provenance

(Takashi Yanagi)

2014-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Japanese, Natsume Tea Caddy, early 17th century, black lacquer on wood. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase; gifts from Henry G. Stevens, Mrs. Byron C. Foy in memory of her father Walter P. Chrysler, by exchange, 2014.37.