Vintage Japanese Tea Ceremony Natsume Black Lacquer Silver Bamboo 3” Japanese wind-swept pine: two figures stand

wind-swept pine: two figures stand in richly patterned kimono — one carrying a folding fan

The bodhisattva stands upon a multi-tiered base featuring a large open lotus flower with gilt petals

Some are unused

from Zhuge Liang's celebrated maxim 淡泊以明志 — "through tranquility one clarifies one's ambitions") within what appears to be a studio or study name invoking Xie Lingyun

a cast bronze flower-bud finial surmounts the lid

Vintage Japanese Tea Ceremony Natsume Black Lacquer Silver Bamboo 3” Japanese wind-swept pine: two figures standThis is a vintage Japanese chu natsume or tea caddy used in the chanoyu tea ceremony. It holds the powdered green tea called matcha. A quality natsume such as this is made of turn wood, typically hinoki or Japanese cypress. The wood is lacquered in the traditional Japanese method with over 20 coats of urushi lacquer. Beautifully decorated in traditional motifs. Having been only very sparingly and lovingly used for decades this natsume remains in fine