Golden Treasures: Japanese Gold Lacquer Boxes - Erik Thomsen

14Hills and Stream Tea CaddyIkkō Kiyose II 清 瀬 一 光 二 代 目 (b. 1942)Shōwa period (1926 – 89), 1980sH 2 ½" × D 3 ¾"(6.5 cm × 9.3 cm)Hiranatsume tea caddy with a décor of hills by astream—the hills in takamakie raised gold lacquerwith inlaid mosaics of kirigane gold foil pieces andthe stylized water currents in hiramakie gold lacqueron a bokashi gold powder ground. The insideand the bottom are decorated with fine nashiji goldflakes. The bottom is signed by the artist in goldlacquer as »Ikkō« [ 一 光 ], while the inside of the lidis signed by the tea master Sen Genshitsu XV (b.1923), who thereby gave the tea caddy his seal ofapproval.The tea caddy comes with its original double-nestedstorage boxes; the outer one is lacquered onall surfaces with tamenuri and the inner one of kiriwoodis inscribed and signed on the lid by SenGenshitsu, reading »Sansui makie hiranatsume«(Wide Tea Caddy with Landscape in Gold Lacquer).Ikkō lives and works in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.He follows the traditional methods of Kanazawalacquer while experimenting with new materialsand formats. He has received a number of prizesand is now seen as the leader of the lacquer artistsfrom the region. Kanazawa became a center ofmakie lacquer during the Edo period under theMaeda clan, who succeeded in attracting top-levelcraftsmen and artists from Kyoto to their province.30