Japanese Serving Tray with Fruit Motif

A single yellow peach drifts across a dark lacquer square, with leaves tumbling after it.

This lacquered wood serving tray with a fruit motif from Japan is from Japan, and dates to the 20th century. Lacquerware has a long history in Japan, where wooden objects are coated with the refined sap of the urushi tree to create a hard and glossy finish. Square tray or panel in glossy near-black brown with a narrow yellow edge. A spray of pale yellow and orange fruit, curling leaves, and a thin vine are inlaid in fine yellow detail across the center. It is 10.5 inches wide and 10.5 deep.

Plenty of dark space, and one fruit worth the wait.