Footed Tray

Basketry provides an inexpensive and lightweight foundation for many lacquered wares made in the Ryukyu Islands and elsewhere, but in most cases the woven core is masked by a thick outer coating. In this raised dish, basketry forms part of the decoration. The top of the dish is painted in pigmented lacquer. Most lacquer is very sticky, but Ryukyuan lacquer artists developed techniques for manipulating it as a painting medium.