The Role of Accompanying Objects in Viewing Stone Appreciation
Defining accompanying objects and examining their role in viewing stone appreication.
By Thomas S. Elias, February, 2021
Two tiny bronze frogs used as accompanying objects with the Japanese water pool stone demonstrate the need for the tenkei to be an appropriate complement to the stone. Each frog is about 1 cm (0.39 inches) long and wide.
Small accessories, often made of metal, are sometimes used in Japanese stone displays to create a sense of scale and enhance the presentation by defining the scene. They are nonessential elements used sparingly to add more interest. These figures are known as tenkei (添景) or tenkeibutsu (添景物) used for these same objects. The latter use of the Japanese word tenpai (添配) is also used for these same objects. Today, tenkei and tenpai are used interchangeably.
The word tenkei was adapted for use with stones and bonsai from its use in paintings where artists placed objects in distance landscapes to emphasize the subject of the painting. Tenkei played a supplemental role to the primary subject in these paintings. These small accompanying objects are used in bonsai and suiseki exhibits in Japan. The accompanying objects used with bonsai are much larger than those used with stones because bonsai are typically much larger in size than the stones used in exhibitions. Tenkei used with suiseki displays usually range from 1 to 8 cm (0.4 to 3.1 inches) in size, while those used with bonsai typically are two or more times larger.
The use of tenkei in an individual stone display is primarily a Japanese practice rather than one adapted from Chinese practices. Painted clay and ceramic figures are sometimes used in tree penjing to create scale. This is often seen in Lingnan tree penjing displays in southern China. Matsuura's depiction of a large Chinese made ceramic figure on a small rock does not accurately reflect Chinese stone practices (page 79, An Introduction to Suiseki, 2010). Small figures were used in some traditional Chinese tray landscape scenes and individual contemporary displays.
Tenkei needs to be the appropriate size to create scale in a display. The left piece is 5 cm (2 inches) long and suitable for use with many viewing stones. While the tenkei on the right is 15.3 cm (6 inches) is better suited for use with larger bonsai.
A variety of materials is used to make tenkei. The most commonly known ones to non-Japanese are the tiny metal figures, structures, or animals made of copper, bronze, or silver. These should not have a shiny polished appearance but have an aged looked to them. The art of creating and casting metal tenkei reached a peak in the early 1900s.
Most bonsai and suiseki connoisseurs recognize Wakahara Eisho (1890-1971) as the best craftsman for tenkei due to his exceptional fine detailed metal castings. His best pieces were made early in his career, from 1912 through 1930. Eisho perfected the Lost Wax Metal Casting method of creating tiny figures. Sen-En-Kyo wrote that Eisho's fine metal castings were initially made as an art to be viewed by themselves. Sencha enthusiasts as them as art objects to be appreciated during the formal tea ceremony (Suiseki-II, An Art Created by Nature, 2007).
This Eisho tenkei is 9.5 cm long, 2 cm high, and 1 cm wide.
Eisho’s tenkei were also used in bonsai and stone displays. According to Murata Keiji, (How to Place and Display Suiseki, 1966), there are no documents to tell us when tenkei began to be used. He believes their use with suiseki began in the Showa period, around 1925, and continued to the present. In a latter book (Suiseki, 1981), Murata wrote that tenkei is not an indispensable tool, unlike the suiban (ceramic tray) and daiza (wood base). The appreciation of suiseki does not require tenkei, but tenkei adds fun to the appreciation.
Porcelain, ceramic, and wood tenkei figures are utilized, but not as frequently as metal figures. Their size and function are more important than their composition. Katayama, the founder of the school of Keido in Japan, was opposed to the use of wood tenkei with suiseki. In his tenets, Katayama opposed displaying an accompanying object on a small stand with feet if the primary object (the stone) is displayed on a footed stand. Katayama's Keido school of display is replete with many dos and don'ts. He thought it was improper to use a small stone as a tenkei to a larger stone. Also, if the primary stone is displayed on a base plate (wood slab), it should always be thicker than the baseplate used for an accompanying object.
This small white porcelain bodhisattva tenkei turns this display into a scene of contemplation and reflection.
A display of an excellent Japanese stone with a tenkei is provocative. It stirs imagination or instills feelings of contemplation. On the surface, such a display appears simple, bit in reality it is difficult to achieve. Having a supply of high-quality accompanying objects that do not appear new or shiny is a requirement. In Japan, quality metal tenkei is readily available; but finely made accompanying objects are more difficult to locate outside Japan. This void led some skilled silversmiths in western countries to create these objects.
Before using accompanying objects with a stone, one must decide what type of display is desired. Do you want a display that can have different meaning to a range of people? Or, do you want your display to be fixed; that is, to have a definite scene or message? For example, look at the stone displayed in a glazed ceramic tray. Some viewers will see an island in the sea, others might view it as a rocky outcrop in a desert, and still, others interpreted it differently. When a boat-shaped tenkei is added to this display, it becomes an island in a body of water. When a camel-shaped tenkei is used, it becomes a desert scene without question.
It is best to use accompanying objects sparingly and only to complement the primary object in defining a scene. There is a tendency among novices to use too many items in a traditional Japanese style display. Another challenge is to achieve the proper scale between the primary and accompanying pieces. This takes time and practice while always keeping in mind the feelings you strive to create.
A completely different sense of scale is created with this Japanese Shimanto River stone depending upon the tenkei that is used with this stone.
Companion objects can be displayed sitting on a stone, or they can be displayed adjacent to a stone. This applies to stones held in carved wood bases or stones displayed in ceramic or metal trays. Plateau-shaped stones and some water holding stones are ideal for placing tenkei directly on the stone. Many mountain-shaped stones with sharply rising slopes make it impossible to display a companion object on the stone itself. Pagoda and similar structures should be placed on the rock rather than adjacent to the stone. The placement of a small item is flexible and is guided by both the stone and the need to create a balanced display.
Italian Master Tenkei Artist Andrea Terinazzi of Florence, Italy and one of his finely crafted tenkei.
Andrea Terinazzi: Master Artist
The art of Japanese style bonsai and suiseki and the Keido School of Display appealed to the aesthetic taste and was quickly adopted by many Italians. One of those new devotees was a young man living and working in Florence. At the time, Andrea Terinazzi, was a silversmith employed at a firm making fine silver goods. He started working at the age of 14 and learned the various welding, turning, and chiseling techniques used in producing silver products.
Terinazzi’s tenkei for sale in his vendor site at an AIAS convention.
Selection of Terinazzi tenkei in the collection of Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakaoji.
As Terinazzi studied the Keido principles of display, he learned about using small metal objects as accompanying items to bonsai and viewing stones. He admired the Japanese tokonoma displays using a bonsai or stone with a scroll and a small metal accompanying object. The supply of quality Japanese Tenkei was limited. As a result, Terinazzi decided to switch from working exclusively in silver and began designing and producing Tenkei in bronze. He used the lost wax or the plate casting techniques to make these items. Terinazzi has designed and made over 150 different Tenkei, including many unique pieces. He likes to collaborate with customers to produce the object they need to complete their planned display best. His extensive knowledge of metal processing enables him to make intricate pieces with exquisite detail. Terinazzi's tenkei is slightly larger than many Japanese pieces.
Andrea Terinazzi is an active member of the Associazione Italiana Amatori Suiseki (AIAS) and usually has a booth where he sells his bronze and silver accompanying objects. His bestselling pieces are animal figures. Terinazzi will make custom pieces upon request, but knowledge of Italian or a translator is a must since he only speaks Italian. Andrea Terinazzi does have a FaceBook page.
A few skilled artists such as Terinazzi have stepped in to fill the need for high-quality metal accompanying objects for use in bonsai and viewing stone displays. It supplies suitable subject items for use with native viewing stones that cannot be found in Japan. Having typical European animal figures to pair with European stones is important in the development of regionally authentic displays.
