Pair Mid-Century Japanese Red Lacquer Chopsticks With Mother-of-Pearl Inlay

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A fine pair of mid-20th-century Japanese lacquer chopsticks (hashi), hand-decorated in vivid vermilion lacquer with a flowing pattern of raden—tiny … Read more A fine pair of mid-20th-century Japanese lacquer chopsticks (hashi), hand-decorated in vivid vermilion lacquer with a flowing pattern of raden—tiny fragments of mother-of-pearl and abalone shell set into the surface and sealed beneath clear lacquer. The iridescent inlay shimmers subtly against the red and gilt ground, creating a lively interplay of color and light.
Elegant and lightweight, these chopsticks represent the traditional Japanese art of lacquerware in its modern, midcentury form during Japan’s postwar design renaissance.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE
The raden technique dates to Japan’s Nara period (8th century) and was historically used to embellish writing boxes and sword scabbards. By the mid-1900s, master artisans in Wakasa and Kyoto adapted the process for modern tableware—each fragment of shell hand-cut and arranged in lacquer to catch the light like rippling water.

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