Curved Dry Lacquer Teaspoon

Long dry lacquer spoon by Mie Yokouchi, handmade at her studio in Yamanashi Prefecture. Japanese artisan Mie Yokouchi creates lacquer works using the specialist "Kanshitsu" technique (meaning dry lacquer). Mixing flour, wood and soil powder with lacquer on linen cloth and Japanese paper she’s able to create a strong base for her work, which she then layers on to a mould usually made from wood or clay.

This particular spoon has a smooth red lacquer finish on top and a rough black surface on the bottom. On the bottom you can see the small flecks of natural material used to make this spoon, it's quite something. Overall a beautiful piece of work that mixes functional design with art, using a rare fading technique of crafting such an object.