{"product_id":"hyotan-chaki-gold-kotobuki-maki-e-lacquer-lid-by-zuiho-tomobako","title":"Hyōtan Chaki — Gold Kotobuki Maki-e Lacquer Lid by Zuihō, Tomobako","description":"Experience Authentic Japan Art with this Hyotan Chaki Gourd Tea Caddy. This Gold Maki-e Tea Caddy serves as a Japanese Tea Ceremony piece and Chabako Travel Tea Set component, featuring a Kotobuki Longevity Motif and Natural Gourd Chaki—a must-have for any Art Collector drawn to Zuiho Lacquerware and Urushi Lacquer Lid work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Zuihō (瑞宝) — sealed and inscribed on tomobako\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Natural bottle gourd body (hyōtan); urushi lacquer lid with gold maki-e 寿 (kotobuki) character\u003cbr\u003e• Era: 2000 – 2006\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Japan\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Height approx. 5.5 cm, Diameter approx. 7 cm\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Tomobako (artist-signed wooden box) with Zuihō inscription and red seal\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Very good. Gourd surface shows natural organic variation; lacquer lid clean with no chips or abrasion; maki-e gold intact and vivid\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL \u0026amp; ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003eThe hyōtan — the bottle gourd — carries one of the oldest symbolic vocabularies in Japanese culture. Associated with longevity, luck, and the Taoist sages of old, it appears in netsuke, ikebana, and the tea ceremony alike. When a craftsman selects a natural gourd as the body of a chaki, the material itself becomes part of the statement: nothing is imposed, everything is received. The organic amber skin, its mottled depth, the slight asymmetries of growth — these are not flaws but the presence of the living world brought into the tearoom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eZuihō's lacquer lid answers the gourd in a different register. The dark tortoiseshell-brown urushi grounds the composition, and against that depth the gold 寿 character — kotobuki, longevity — is written with calligraphic ease. The brushstroke quality is preserved in the maki-e: you see the hand that made it. In this pairing, two materials that have nothing to do with each other become, together, a complete thought about time and celebration.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]\u003cbr\u003eHyōtan chaki are a category unto themselves within tea utensils. Where most chaki are carved from wood or shaped from ceramic, the hyōtan form is found rather than made — the craftsman works within what the gourd offers. This imposes a discipline: the interior must be prepared to hold powdered matcha without moisture transfer, and the mouth must be shaped to accept a fitted lid. Zuihō's work here shows that preparation is seamless; the fit between lid and body is clean and secure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaki-e is the technique of drawing in lacquer — typically negoro or urushi base — and then dusting with powdered gold or silver before the lacquer sets. The resulting image is flush with the surface, bonded at the molecular level, and extraordinarily durable. The 寿 character on this lid is rendered in a fluid, slightly cursive script that suggests calligraphic confidence rather than mechanical reproduction. Viewed from different angles, the gold shifts from matte to reflective — a quality called tama-maki-e effect that indicates good powder distribution.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe kotobuki motif (寿 — longevity, felicitation) is among the most auspicious in the Japanese lexicon. Its use on a chaki ties the object firmly to celebratory tea settings: formal New Year gatherings, auspicious occasions, the tea traditions that mark the turning of seasons. A hyōtan chaki with kotobuki maki-e is not an everyday utensil — it is brought out when the occasion itself has cultural weight.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the collector, what distinguishes this piece is the layering of symbolic registers: gourd (natural longevity), kotobuki (declared longevity), and the tomobako that confirms Zuihō's authorship. The box inscription and red seal are not mere documentation — they are the artist's witness to the object, a presence that travels with it through time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs a component of a chabako (travel tea set), the hyōtan chaki is particularly valued for its lightness and the way the natural gourd resists impact better than ceramic. Collectors who work with full chabako ensembles often anchor them with a hyōtan chaki precisely because the form announces intentionality — this is not convenience equipment but considered selection.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[ JAPANESE DESCRIPTION \/ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e瑞宝作、寿字金蒔絵蓋の瓢茶器。共箱付き。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e本作は天然の瓢箪を茶器の胴として用い、黒漆塗の蓋表に金蒔絵で「寿」の文字を施した、茶箱道具に相応しい一品です。蓋の漆は深みのある焦げ茶色で、金の寿字は筆の勢いをそのまま蒔絵に写したような流麗な書体。真上から見ると大きく堂々とした文字に、斜めから見ると筆遣いの細部が光を受けて浮かび上がります。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e瓢箪という素材は、日本において古くから長寿・縁起・仙境の象徴として親しまれてきました。茶道具として用いられる際には、その自然な形と軽さが茶箱（持ち運び用の茶道具一式）の主茶器として重用される理由のひとつです。胴の表面は琥珀色を帯びた温かみのある自然色で、有機的な斑模様が素材の個性を静かに主張しています。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e蒔絵は、漆地に金粉を蒔いて文様を定着させる日本独自の装飾技法。本作の寿字蒔絵は研磨仕上げでなく、粉の配置に適度な粗密があり、光の角度によって表情が変わります。これは量産品ではなく、手仕事による一点ものであることの証左です。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e蓋と胴の合いは精緻で、茶粉が漏れる心配なくしっかりと閉まります。共箱には「寿字 瓢茶器 瑞宝作」と墨書され、朱の落款が捺されており、作者の確認が明確に取れます。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e寿字という吉祥文様と、天然瓢箪という長寿の象徴が重なるこの茶器は、初釜・年賀の茶会・祝いの席での薄茶点前に格別の存在感を放ちます。状態は良好で、胴面の自然な凹凸以外に傷・欠けはなく、蒔絵の金も鮮明に保たれています。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ SHIPPING \u0026amp; PACKAGING ]\u003cbr\u003e• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days\u003cbr\u003e• Carrier: Japan Post EMS \/ UPS (with tracking)\u003cbr\u003e• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials","brand":"The Modern Zen Archive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61843712016754,"sku":"260511_a_2822","price":747.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m67952605497_1.jpg?v=1778468605","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/hyotan-chaki-gold-kotobuki-maki-e-lacquer-lid-by-zuiho-tomobako","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}