This set of two antique Japanese storage trunks are a willow-wicker kōri with a full lid, a dense weave over a wooden frame and edges reinforced with cloth and leather. It originates from Japan, from the Taishō period, around 1920, where willow was hand-plaited for storing and carrying clothing.
In the Japanese home, the kōri (行李) was the everyday storage trunk: it held and carried kimono and textiles, protected by a light, breathable weave. Willow trunks, the yanagi-gōri, were made in great numbers around Toyooka and often came in nesting pairs.
Body and lid are plaited with willow rods over a wooden frame, in a tight weave that gives the whole its rigidity. The edges and corners are reinforced with sewn cloth bands and leather appliqués, which frame the weave and protect the angles. All the work is by hand.
The willow has taken a warm honey-coloured patina, lighter on the faces and darker on the reinforcements with use. The cloth keeps its aged tone and the weave shows wear and some loss consistent with age, in a whole that reads as lived-in material. It keeps, on the front, a leather label with a printed seal, the maker’s mark.
As a decorative object, it works as open storage, a low side table or a piece at the foot of the bed. It fits wabi-sabi, japandi, contemporary rustic and Japanese-feeling interiors, where it brings natural texture and a sense of travel.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 78 cm – Width 40 cm – Height 19 cm
- Style: Taishō period
- Materials and techniques: Plaited willow wicker; cloth and leather reinforcements; wooden frame.
- Place of origin: Japan
- Period: Taishō period
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1920
- Condition: Good. Sound weave with warm patina; cloth and leather reinforcements preserved, with wear and some loss consistent with age. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
