Large Antique Japanese Inlay Wood Hibachi Platter

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A hibachi like this one used to hold fire, not ferns. Carved from a single section of keyaki, the dense, … Read more A hibachi like this one used to hold fire, not ferns. Carved from a single section of keyaki, the dense, tightly grained elm prized in Japan for furniture that needed to survive real daily use, this bowl once held glowing charcoal for warmth or for heating water, its copper liner fitted to protect the wood from the heat it was built to hold. What's carried it into a very different life is the gold maki-e on its exterior, chrysanthemum blossoms built up in fine gold powder over lacquer, sprinkled on while the lacquer was still tacky, a technique Japanese lacquer artists have practiced for over a thousand years and one that simply can't be faked with paint. The wood has taken on a deep, almost coppery patina of its own after generations of handling, the grain showing through in long, quiet lines beneath the lacquer. Repurposed as a planter, as many surviving hibachi are today, it brings real weight and a genuine functional history into a room, not just the look of one. Set it low, on a console or the floor beside a chair, somewhere its gold detailing can catch afternoon light, and let something living grow out of a vessel that used to hold fire.

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