Akahada Ware White-Glazed Lamp Holder with Cherry-Blossom Openwork | Candle Lamp Shade | Wooden Tomobako
This Japanese ceramic lamp holder has a mellow, refined white glaze and a round, full form, with extensive cherry-blossom openwork across the body that gives the otherwise solid pottery a light, airy look. Its most appealing feature is that the flowers are not simply painted but cut directly into the body as many openwork cherry-blossom motifs. When a suitable light source is placed inside, light shines naturally through the petal- and leaf-shaped openings, creating soft, layered patterns of light and shadow on the surface. The white glaze and cherry-blossom imagery avoid excessive ornament, instead showing the restraint and beauty of empty space common in Japanese wares. By day it is a ceramic ornament to admire; at night, lit up, it becomes an atmospheric art lamp, one piece with two faces, which is its greatest charm. It also retains its original wooden tomobako (original signed box); for Japanese ceramics, a tomobako not only serves for storage and protection but also adds to the completeness of the piece for collecting and display.
