Daimyo Vessel

Year: 2006

Dimensions: 10.25"H x 5.5"W x 3.25"D

Materials: Fiddleback-figured bigleaf maple with inlaid mineral crystals. Finished with tung oil.

Comment: Acquired by art collector, scholar, and woodturner Randy Peerenboom of Beijing, China. His words:

I have found, I think, the particular idea that discusses the overall harmony [of Daimyo]. The wu (military) aspect and wen (cultural/aesthetic) aspect are resolved in the overall harmony and balance of the piece as visually represented by the torii and base, which contain and encircle both components - classical thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. At the same time, the torii is itself sparse, unyielding and yet perfectly proportioned, balanced and satisfying, with the base more embellished yet containing the reference to the sword (something btw I did not pick up on until you noted it but now seems obvious and brilliant), thus creating their own thesis and antithesis. This pushes you forward and outward beyond the piece, making you reflect on the ongoing and inevitable tension between wu and wen and how they are manifest and to be reconciled in the contemporary circumstances where you happen to find yourself situated. This makes the piece timeless, an yet historically situated and contingent; universal, and yet particular and self-referential.