Ironic, isn’t it? Japan is supposed to be the dangerous place to be, but in the days since I left New Jersey, the East Coast has had an earthquake and is now facing a major hurricane. To escape my Irene worries, I did the one thing that can take my mind off anything – I went to a shrine sale – and a fabulous one at that. It was an extremely hot and steamy day at Kawagoe today, but my favorite form of retail therapy did its magic. I have a proper post on the day coming, but in the meantime, I am throwing out a challenge to my readers. Can you guess what this object is?

The pattern is the well known shippou-tsunagi (seven treasures pattern), decorating Japanese textiles, porcelain, furniture and just about anything.

And while we are at it, in an incredibly modern form – digital furniture design – on this walnut desk by Laszlo Beckett. I have been drooling over this for a while!

 

But what do you use the object for?  Leave your guess in the comments. The correct answer wins a small prize! Here’s a hint of the prize to get your brain going…