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Materials
In China, they used to be made of gold, silver or bamboo
In Japan, they are made from ivory, water buffalo horn, tortoise shell; and of course, bamboo
There are also pieces made from plain wood, and lacquered ones
Shape
They are usually 18 cm long (= 12.5
畳 weaves); but, for example,
利休's student
勢田掃部 had a famous, large
茶碗, so the
茶杓 利休 made for it was 14.5 weaves long (CQ21)
When
利休 carved
茶杓, he always wanted to have the
茶入 or the
茶碗 it was to be used with to be next to him
Ranking
| Rank | Bamboo | Other materials | use |
| 真 | without node | ivory | 盆点 and above |
| 行 | node at the end | | 唐物 |
| 草 | node in the middle | other woods (cherry, apricot…) | |
名物
泪 is said to have been carved when
利休 was waiting for the official who was supposed to witness his suicide (CQ21). It was sent to
織部, who treasured it greatly (CQ21).
勢多 is the
茶杓 mentioned above, made for the
水海 茶碗.