{"product_id":"white-lacquer-damselfly-maki-e-chu-natsume-by-nakade-shoho","title":"White Lacquer Damselfly Maki-e Chu-Natsume by Nakade Shoho","description":"Experience authentic Japanese tea culture with this White Lacquer Natsume by the established Kyoto artist Nakade Shoho. This Damselfly Maki-e Caddy presents the Shiro-Nuri Lacquer technique at its most refined — a warm cream surface carrying delicate Ito-Tombo Maki-e rendered in green and silver. A distinctive Kyoto Tea Caddy and a contemplative Summer Tea Accessory, this Chu-Natsume serves as both a functional Chado Utensil and a compelling Japanese Lacquer Gift. An exceptional Collector Natsume with verified provenance from the Undo gallery, this piece embodies the quiet seasonal poetry of Zen Tea Ceremony Art.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Nakade Shoho (中出松峰), Kyoto\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Shiro-nuri (白塗) with maki-e (蒔絵)\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Contemporary (Heisei–Reiwa)\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Kyoto, Japan\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: H 7.0 cm × D 6.5 cm\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Tomobako with inscription; includes commercial label from Undo (雲堂), Kyoto\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Near-unused — exceptionally clean throughout\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL \u0026amp; ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShiro-nuri — white lacquer — is among the most technically demanding finishes in urushi craft. Where dark lacquer forgives minor imperfections beneath its depth, white lacquer conceals nothing. Every stroke, every dust particle, every irregularity in the substrate is magnified by the pale, luminous surface. To achieve the flawless peach-cream finish seen on this natsume requires not only refined materials but an environment of absolute cleanliness and an artist with unwavering hand control.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNakade Shoho has placed upon this demanding surface a scene of late summer: water grasses rise in green maki-e around the body of the natsume, their blades bending gently as though moved by a breeze off an unseen pond. On the lid, a single ito-tombo — a damselfly, sometimes called a \"thread dragonfly\" for its slender form — perches on the tip of a reed. Faint ripples at the base suggest water just beneath the composition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe seasonal specificity is deliberate. In the tea ceremony calendar, the damselfly belongs to high summer, making this natsume most appropriate for gatherings between June and August. Its presence on the temae table signals that the host has attended to the season with precision.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*\"A damselfly alights where intention meets stillness — the surface holds what the season cannot keep.\"*\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Shiro-Nuri Technique**: White lacquer (shiro-nuri) is produced by mixing titanium oxide or other white pigments into the urushi base. Unlike standard kuro-nuri (black lacquer) or shu-nuri (red lacquer), white lacquer cures more slowly and is far more sensitive to environmental conditions during application. Temperature, humidity, and dust must all be controlled with laboratory-like precision. The warm cream tone of this piece suggests a carefully calibrated pigment ratio that avoids the coldness of pure white while maintaining luminosity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Ito-Tombo Motif**: The ito-tombo (糸蜻蛉) — damselfly — is distinguished from the larger tonbo (dragonfly) by its slender body and the way it folds its wings at rest. In Japanese aesthetics, the damselfly carries associations of ephemerality and the fleeting peak of summer. Unlike the dragonfly, which often symbolizes martial valor, the damselfly suggests delicacy and the transience of warm days.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Provenance — Undo Gallery, Kyoto**: The inclusion of a commercial label from Undo (雲堂), a recognized Kyoto purveyor of tea utensils, adds a layer of provenance verification. The label specifies the item name (中棗), design (糸蜻蛉蒔絵), interior finish (内黒塗), and box grade (格桐箱), confirming this as a properly documented piece from an established retail channel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Near-Unused Condition**: The pristine state of this natsume — interior and exterior — suggests it was acquired and stored with great care, possibly held as a collector's piece rather than rotated through regular tea practice. For the incoming owner, this represents an opportunity to inaugurate a piece that has been waiting, patiently, for its first gathering.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【基本情報】\u003cbr\u003e• 作家：中出松峰（京都）\u003cbr\u003e• 技法：白塗・蒔絵\u003cbr\u003e• 時代：現代\u003cbr\u003e• 産地：京都、日本\u003cbr\u003e• 寸法：高さ 7.0 cm × 径 6.5 cm\u003cbr\u003e• 付属：共箱（箱書「白塗 糸蜻蛉蒔絵 中棗」）、雲堂（京都）商品ラベル\u003cbr\u003e• 状態：ほぼ未使用 — 内外ともに極めて清浄\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【解説】\u003cbr\u003e白塗は漆芸のなかでも最も技術的難度の高い仕上げのひとつです。黒漆が深みの中に微細な不均一を包み込むのに対し、白漆は一切を露わにします。中出松峰はその厳しい地肌の上に、糸蜻蛉と水草の夏景色を蒔絵で描きました。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e蓋の頂には葦の先に止まる一匹の糸蜻蛉。胴回りには緑の蒔絵で水辺の草が立ち上がり、裾にはかすかな水紋が見えます。茶の湯の季節暦において糸蜻蛉は盛夏の意匠であり、六月から八月の茶席にふさわしい取り合わせです。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e京都・雲堂の商品ラベルが付属し、品名・絵柄・仕上げ・箱の等級が明記されています。ほぼ未使用の状態が保たれており、次の持ち主が最初の茶席で使い初めをする喜びを残しています。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*The season passes — but the stillness it left on this surface does not.*","brand":"The Modern Zen Archive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61585239343474,"sku":"251006_a_1327","price":1070.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m70498688038_1.jpg?v=1770792448","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/white-lacquer-damselfly-maki-e-chu-natsume-by-nakade-shoho","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}