Pair of lacquer hibachi

Pair of lacquer hibachi

Japan, Showa period (1926 – 1989)

Height: 9 7/8 inches, 25 cm
Diameter: 10 1/4 inches, 26 cm

A pair of wood hibachi, the sides composed of ten panels in red lacquer, tapering towards the bottom and alternating with ten narrow triangular panels in black lacquer.  Each hibachi has two fan-shaped handles in silver and a loose liner in silver-coloured metal. The hibachi are contained within the original wood tomobako

 

Hibachi literally means ‘fire bowl’, an open-topped container that functions traditionally as a heating device in Japan and was designed to hold burning charcoal.