Kuroda Sokai - Tea service - Natural bamboo

This bamboo lid holder, crafted by Kuroda Sōkazu, is a piece from the Kuroda family, a renowned bamboo crafts family and one of the "Senke Ten Crafts" of Japanese tea ceremony. Made from natural bamboo, it is lacquered both inside and out, with a natural yellow-brown two-tone texture created using a "peeling" technique. The lid holder is a tea ceremony utensil used to hold the teapot lid and prevent tea from staining the table. The piece comes with its original paulownia wood box, inscribed in ink with "Bamboo Master Kuroda Sōkazu" and stamped with the maker's seal, making it a masterpiece among traditional Japanese tea ceremony utensils.