Sweet Viburnum display cabinet
H 78 x W 105 x D 39 cm,Year.2019Katsuyuki Okada
1943 -- Wood and Bamboo
- Price Range Please Inquire
The style of the work can be summed up as chameleon-like. As he hates being fixed to and being known for a particular design, the works range from bold, manly items to very delicate, feminine pieces. He is inspired and motivated by his unique outlook on life.
View DetailAbout the Artwork
An antique-colored cabinet that wouldn't be strange at all if someone said it's been here for hundreds of years.
Have you ever heard of sweet viburnum? Even if you haven't, you should probably have seen it somewhere. It can be seen in parks and often used for hedges. This tree contains a lot of water and does not burn easily, so it is useful as a "fire retardant tree" that prevents the spread of fire.
However, I didn't purchase this wood from a lumber dealer. I somehow had a chance to purchase this wood, but using wood that a lumber dealer doesn't even know about was quite difficult.
After many twists and turns, I was finally able to make this cabinet. I was surprised to see the unflashy, chic and antique colors that cannot be seen with any other wood.
It's difficult to say what color it is, as the color looks different depending on the lighting, and the photos all look different.
As the bark is quite rough, beautiful spot-like wood grains can be seen randomly, and it has a mysterious beauty.
The wood of the doors on the front are cut along the wood grain, so they are not straight. The inside shelves can be removed. The forms of the legs in the front and back of the cabinet are different.
As for the gem-like decorations under the doors, I used bubinga wood for the red decorations and magnolia wood with circular burls for the brown decorations. No colors have been added.
As for the metal fittings, I used a very old keyhole in the middle, and I had my metalworker friend who also repairs artworks at museums make a key with similar metal.
The hinges were made by his late grandfather, who was also a famous metalworker. He let me use the hinges that his grandfather made.
The metal composition of iron used in old metal fittings from around the Edo period until before World War II are totally different from the metal composition of iron today. It has a very moist blackness that cannot be made anymore.
This cabinet looks Japanese, western and modern, yet the colors are antique. This piece is full of such fantasy.
As I used traditional wood joinery techniques to make this piece, no metal parts other than the fittings mentioned and the latches have been used. The wood color is its natural color with no colors added.
Description
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CategoryWood and Bamboo
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MaterialsSweet viburnum, Paulownia Wood, Iron
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DimensionsH 78 x W 105 x D 39 cm
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Year of creation2019
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InstructionsAs a transparent coating is applied, this cabinet 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 cabinet 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
