Brush Holder (Fude-Tate)

A brush holder, or fude-tate, made from a cylindrical open section of bamboo incised with two turtles, a symbol of good luck, and the Japanese character meaning furo, or eternal youth. The cup is set on an octagonal wooden base. This brush holder was collected by Commodore Matthew C. Perry during his historic Japan Expedition (1853-1854) that opened Japan to the western world and established a lasting diplomatic, economic and cultural relationship between two Pacific Rim nations. Artifacts from Perry's Japan Expedition would become some of the founding objects of the Smithsonian Institution's anthropology collections.

See Chang-Su Houchins. 1995. Artifacts of Diplomacy: Smithsonian Collections from Commodore Matthew Perry's Japan Expedition (1853-1854). Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, Number 37. P 98