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Rare Buddhist Keko Flower Basket browse these categories for related items... All Items: Archives:Regional Art:Asian:Japanese: Pre 1900: item # 184210 Please refer to our stock # 6B-343 when inquiring.
B & C Antiques P. O. Box 291 Derby, CT 06418 203-929-7312 Guest Book SOLD |
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This shallow filigreed copper plate, called a “keko,” was an important implement in Japanese Buddhist rituals. Mid-late 19th century. The copper has been pierced and chased in a design of lotuses and scrolling vines. The design on the copper openwork flower basket with a solid attached rim consists of an elaborate arabesque of scrolling vines with lotus flowers and leaves. The openwork section was first cut from a sheet of copper. The large central lotus blossom and the four smaller surrounding flowers and two lotus leaves were subsequently worked in repousse to give them added detail. The practice of offering flowers to the Buddha dates back to the Indian origins of the Buddhist faith, where the ground on which important figures walked was purified with scattered flower petals. Such customs were integrated into the Buddhist tradition and remain an essential part of Japanese Buddhist ritual. Most important Buddhist rituals begin with a chanted four-part liturgy which symbolically prepares the sacred space of the hall for the arrival of the deity. During the third section of this liturgy, known as the Strewing of Flowers, the monks spread flower petals around the hall and on the altar to purify it. These petals, sometimes of real flowers but more often made of paper or cloth, are held in the keko. The earliest Japanese keko date from the eighth century. (See Figure 55 in “Object as Insight: Japanese Buddhist Art & Ritual” from the Katonah Museum of Art.) Condition is very good. Two of the three small ring feet on the back have been replaced. There is some oxidation on the back. Dimensions: 10” diameter, 1 ˝” high. |
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