

Vintage Sterling Salt & Pepper Shakers
Vintage Japanese 950 Sterling Daruma Salt and Pepper Shakers
Age:Late 1940s
Descriptive qualities& condition:
Dimensions: 1-5/8”h x 1-3/8” dia.
Vintage Sterling Silver 950K Daruma salt and pepper shakers, (JAPANESE WISH DOLL) and marked Sterling on the back. This beautifully formed Daruma is hollow to hold its contents while displaying the expressive life-like facial features characteristic of this Zen patriarch. The bottom of each figure has a Sterling Silver screw cap that is weighted and allows filling. These were specifically made for use during the Japanese Tea Ceremony for which the ceremony was credited to Bodhidharma, (aka Daruma), the founder of Zen Buddhism where similar objects were used to support the Kaiseki theme and used to impress invited guests. Similar objects were then made for export when Japan opened up to the rest of the world.
Condition: Excellent in form, design, material manipulation, and finish.
NOTE: Daruma’s presence in the life and culture of Japan has recorded its diverse manifestations and their symbolic role suggesting the complex interrelatedness of Daruma with Japanese customs. As a distinctive Japanese image, Daruma is a product of multiple sources: history, legend, mystical experience, sectarian rivalry, artistic genius, popular imagination and inventiveness, and aspirations intrinsic to the formation of Japanese culture and the definitions of Japanese character.