France
Japan
1950s, Mid-Late 19th Century
Gilt bronze, paper
20″ diameter x 68 3/4″ high (shade 19″ diameter, 42 1/2″ high)

This happy marriage was consecrated on the eve of an exhibit we curated combining Japanese boro and other folk textiles, with Nordic utilitarian antiques. We were trying to illuminate the beauty of this 19th century patched and preserved mulberry fiber bag, originally intended to hold silk or silk worm cocoons, and happened to have a mid-20th century gilt bronze base in the manner of Bagues that seemed to do the job quite nicely. Why divorce this perfect match? We hope it is only the first of many such wonderful couplings.