Chaff sieve

Object is a large shallow sieve woven in bamboo. The selection of weaves and finished surfaces may have a utilitarian intent but they appear to be decorative as well. The large center of the basket is woven in an open weave, simple plaiting executed in pale green strips. Along the sides of the sieve, these strips are woven with narrower tan colored strips as weft in a closed weave diagonal twining. A row of brown vine material is woven around the square border between the two weaves.

The rim is plain and rounded, with wide strips of bamboo tightly lashed around the internal structure. Under the rim is an additional thick band of bamboo, fitted tightly in place.

Maker(s)
Artist: Hiroshima Kazuo 廣島一夫 (Japan, 1915-2013)
Historical period(s)
Heisei era, 1995
Medium
Bamboo and vine
Dimensions
H x Diam: 10.5 x 59 cm (4 1/8 x 23 1/4 in)
Geography
Japan, Miyazaki prefecture, Hinokage
Credit Line
Gift of Nakamura Kunio
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1996.35
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Tool and Equipment
Type

Sieve

Keywords
bamboo, food preparation, Heisei era (1989 - present), Japan
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Object is a large shallow sieve woven in bamboo. The selection of weaves and finished surfaces may have a utilitarian intent but they appear to be decorative as well. The large center of the basket is woven in an open weave, simple plaiting executed in pale green strips. Along the sides of the sieve, these strips are woven with narrower tan colored strips as weft in a closed weave diagonal twining. A row of brown vine material is woven around the square border between the two weaves.

The rim is plain and rounded, with wide strips of bamboo tightly lashed around the internal structure. Under the rim is an additional thick band of bamboo, fitted tightly in place.

Label

A chaff sieve was used for separating husked rice grains (momi) from husks and debris or for cleaning other grains and beans (such as wheat, barley, millet, azuki beans, and soybeans) of their husks or dried pods. After being sorted with this sieve, the grain was further processed using a winnow. Mr. Hiroshima learned to make this implement during his apprenticeship.

It has a precisely spaced open weave in the center panel. The size of the mesh is expressed in the traditional measurement of bu (3.03 millimeters). All such sieving baskets are painstaking to produce and require special tools.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort. Twentieth-century Asian Crafts in the Sackler Gallery. vol. XLIII no. 3. p. 19, fig. 5.
Collection Area(s)
Contemporary Art, Japanese Art
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