Dou Rice Measure

This rustic container was made over a hundred years ago to measure and hold a dou of rice, a traditional Chinese unit of volume. The rice measure has a square form with tapered sides, handcrafted of elm with dovetail joinery, iron staple reinforcements and a gently arched handle, burnished smooth by the touch of many hands. The wooden vessel is richly weathered from years of use, marked with imperfections and timeworn texture.

At some point over the past century, a split to the wood was lovingly mended with additional iron staples in the spirit of "ju ci," the traditional Chinese art of repairing broken ceramics with iron pins and staples. Similar to Japanese kintsugi, ju ci treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object and celebrates the transformative beauty of restoration.

Splits to wood throughout. Filled repair to one side.