Natural Burled Carved Keyaki Wood Tea Tray
January 2013 Auction by Far East Asian Art

This unusual Japanese wooden tea tray, carved from the burled trunk of a keyaki (zelkova) tree, was made for use in the tea ceremony. Meiji period (1868-1912). Trays of this type were important accessories in senchado (“the way of sencha”) -- the tea ceremony developed in the Edo period using sencha tea. The short thick exterior wall of the tray is crafted from the densely grained wavy burl, which has a sheen that almost glows...