Camellia Kashigata (wagashi mould)

Sold Out $120.00

Antique and vintage handmade wooden wagashi (sweet) moulds, this one with stunning Camellia carvings, were once highly functional items - but in recent times they've become a sought after form of sculptural art.

Kashigata are traditional, wooden confectionary moulds which come in varying sizes. Those with multiple smaller carved shapes are predominantly used for making tea ceremony sweets and larger Kashigata such as the ones we have at Zenbu Home are given as gifts, or offerings at shrine and temple altars. The wagashi (sweets) made from pressing rice flour and fine sugar into the moulds.

Commonly made from Yamazakura or Mountain Cherry wood, sometimes from Camellia or Ginko tree wood and more rarely from others - kashigata were hand-carved by artisans who spent a lifetime perfecting their craft. The wood was commonly aged for several years before carving.

Some Kashigata are far more intricately carved than others which are more streamlined. A combination of them look absolutely stunning in a large group mounted on the wall or in a small grouping sitting on a sideboard, mantle or display unit.

The carvings are often full of symbolism and popularly you'll see 'lucky/long life' fish and turtles or seasonally representative plant, flower or nature motifs, family crests and specific festival or celebration icons with various style influences through the centuries.

Kashigata have a history of over 300 years and all of our kashigata at Zenbu Home are antique or vintage. Sadly this is a dying craft with very few kashigata artists left which means these are becoming a highly collectible art form. This piece has the artist or sweet shop's name in Kanji burned into the back.

Size

24cm long plus 8.5cm handle

9cm wide, just over 2 cm deep

Condition

Full of wabi sabi charm - see pics for detail

*Price includes free delivery in Australia

Collections: Homewares & Decor

Category: antique, art, artisan, confectionary moulds, decor, flowers, folkart, folkcraft, hand-carved, handmade, home decorating, homewares, interiors, japan, Japanese, japanese culture, japanese design, Japanese folkcraft, Japanese homewares, japanese style, japanese tradition, Japanese wood carving, sculpture, style, Traditional, traditional japanese craft, vintage, wagashi, wood, wood carving, wood sculpture, wooden