This bamboo Japanese tea whisk resembles an elegant old fashioned shaving brush in both shape and construction. It is made of bamboo. It has a short round handle made from a thick stem of bamboo that is cut into thin, long, delicate strands of inward curving fibers at the opposite end. There is an inner and outer circle of fibers. Each fiber tapers into a blade-like tip. All the fibers curve inward to make a circular, elegant, hand held, broom-like device used for dissolving powdered tea into hot water.
Japanese
Two Tea Whisks (Cha-sen),
early 20th century
Bamboo
,
11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.)
Object details
Accession number
CR34n21.1-2
Primary Creator
Japanese
Full title
Two Tea Whisks (Cha-sen)
Creation Date
early 20th century
Provenance
Gift from Okakura Kakuzo (1862-1913), Japanese art historian and philosopher, to Isabella Stewart Gardner, 11 September 1905.
Dimensions
11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.)
Display Media
Bamboo
Web Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Permanent Gallery Location
Chinese Room
Bibliography
William Thrasher and Caroline Graboys. "The Beginnings of Chanoyu in America." Chanoyu Quarterly (1984), pp. 20, 24.
Sunao Nakamura (ed.). Okakura Kakuzo: Collected English Writings, III (Tokyo, 1984), pp. 61-63, 58-59.
Victoria Weston. East Meets West: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Okakura Kakuzo. Exploring Treasures in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum V. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1992), p. 28.
Rebecca G. Breslow. "Humanity in a Tea-cup: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Okakura Kakuzo" in Chanoyu Quarterly: Tea and the Arts of Japan, No. 85 (1996), pp. 51-53.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 176-77, ill.
Louise Allison Cort. "Mrs. Gardner's 'Set of Tea-Things.' A Vehicle for Friendship, Power, & Aesthetic Instruction" in Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), pp. 385-86.
Rights and reproductions
The use of images, text, and all other media found on this website is limited. Please review Rights and Reproductions for details.
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.