Features
◆ Specifications
Diameter: 13.2 cm
Width: 13.2 cm
Height: 6 cm
Tenmoku-dai (tea bowl stand) form:
It can be used in the tea ceremony to support a chawan, and also serves well as a base for displaying a vessel, improving the look of the piece as it is set out. Varied functions:
The recess at the centre holds a tea bowl or dish steady and keeps it from sliding, which makes it practical.
Lacquered surface:
The surface has been given a high-gloss finish, similar in effect to the look of traditional lacquerware, which raises its overall quality.
The predominantly black tone is calm and restrained, bringing out the understated elegance of Japanese aesthetics.
Light and durable:
The resin material is not only resistant to wear but easy to clean day to day, suitable for everyday use or for display.
◆ The Historical Origin and Cultural Background of the Tenmoku Bowl
The origin of the tenmoku bowl:
The tenmoku chawan is a kind of tea bowl that originated in Song-dynasty China. In the Song period Japanese monks came to China to seek the Dharma, and in particular to Mount Tianmu in Lin'an County, Zhejiang, where the many temples drew numbers of Japanese monks to practise. Mount Tianmu divides into an eastern and a western peak, both lofty; it is said that each summit holds a pool, the two peaks facing one another to left and right, and from this comes the name "Tianmu" (tenmoku). When the Japanese monks returned home they brought back the tea etiquette, tea rites and tea utensils they had learned in the temples of Mount Tianmu, and the black-glazed tea bowls they carried came precisely from Mount Tianmu; for this reason bowls of this kind are called "tenmoku bowls".