Japanese Mulberry wardrobe
H 850 x W 860 x D 435 cm,Year.2018Katsuyuki Okada
1943 -- Wood and Bamboo
- Price Range Please Inquire
About the Artwork
Mulberry is a tree very familiar to the Japanese and has been a useful tree from a long time ago. It has been used for raising silkworms, its fruit and buds were eaten, and they have also been used to make furniture.
They appear in ancient folklores as well as poems in the "Manyoshu (Collection of a Thousand Leaves)", and have been a tree familiar in our daily lives since ancient times.
However, mulberry is becoming harder to find in the timber market, and it is becoming very rare. The wood is quite hard, and when polished, it becomes a beautiful, deep yellow color, so it is used to make top class tea utensils.
For this piece, I used Chinese mulberry wood. It was lumbered more than 40 years ago, and was set aside since then. By letting the wood rest, the wood settles down and the color changes beautifully.
I finished this piece with waxing to bring out the "golden mulberry color", the top quality color of mulberry wood.
In the photo, it may look a little flamboyant, but this is the color that the Japanese cherished from ancient times.
I used old metal fittings for the hinges, key and handles. The moist black color and texture are totally different from those made today.I repaired and finished the metal fittings carefully with advice from my metalworker friend who repairs artwork in museums.
As I used traditional wood joinery techniques to make this piece, no metal parts have been used except for the hinges, latches and handles mentioned above. The color is natural with no colors added.
Description
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CategoryWood and Bamboo
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MaterialsJapanese mulberry, Paulownia Wood, Iron
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DimensionsH 850 x W 860 x D 435 cm
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Year presented2018
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InstructionsAs a transparent coating is applied, this wardrobe is waterproof.
However, please avoid sudden heat (placing under the heater, near a hot kettle or iron kettle etc.) or use of sharp blades, hammers etc. as this may cause damage to the wooden body. Please also avoid nail polish and other chemicals as this may cause the coating to peel off.
Please be aware that wood expands and shrinks depending on where it is used as it absorbs and releases moisture even after being processed. For example, even by moving the wardrobe among nearby regions in western Japan, a distortion may occur as the humidity is different.
The distortion is very small, but this may cause a slight defect.
Please be aware of this as it is the nature of wood.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Techniques Used
Wood joinery
In wood joinery (sashimono), wood boards are cut into panels with care to how the grain patterns will fit together in the final piece. The wooden panels are then cut or carved to create interlocking joints. These joints, which are the key feature of wood joinery, make it possible to connect boards at right angles to produce boxes and other articles. Wood joinery is assembled without the use of nails or any other metal hardware.
