Moribon or tray for displaying seasonal fruit carved of wood imitating a tattered farm basket. Unsigned. Late Meiji – Taisho era, circa 1900 – 1926.

With a period storage box, inscribed on the exterior of the lid: Maebudo Kago-bori Morimono Bon or Dancing Grape Burl Carved Basket Form Fruit Tray.

One Osaka studio specializing in Sencha objects seems to have carved a series of these trays in wood to mimic woven bamboo pieces.

The warping of the form caused by the breaking of the bamboo creates a tension that fills the tray with movement. The splintering sections of bamboo depicted in this basket contrast with the rich deep color, and bring to mind the idea of wabi, of the simple beauty found in humble objects. The fragility inherent in things, the lonely quality of decay and change denoted by the poetic idea of sabi, suggest for this moribon a late autumn or winter setting.