Floral pattern gold-painted gold ground tea date

Floral pattern gold-painted gold ground tea date

A jujube-shaped wooden base with gold-painted decoration, inside and out. The gold-painted background showcases various maki-e techniques, exhibiting meticulous and exquisite craftsmanship. It dates to the Showa era and shows slight signs of wear. Original box included.

The tea date is a covered container used in Japanese tea ceremony to hold matcha powder, its size just right to fit in the palm of your hand. Since the time of Sen no Rikyu, the Japanese tea master, tea dates have been continuously designed and made, and their combination of aesthetics and practicality has attracted generations of Japanese artisans.
Maki-e is one of the lacquerware techniques that originated in the Nara period. It involves adding gold and silver flakes to lacquer liquid, and then polishing it after it dries to reveal its gold and silver luster, making it extremely luxurious. Sometimes, mother-of-pearl and silver wire are used to inlay flowers, birds, insects, or auspicious patterns.