Sometimes things look better when they’re hidden away in a small Tokyo antique shop. But sometimes those same items look just as good anywhere else.Such is the case with this small scrap of wood covered in paint. It was perched on a beam above my head, and I initially thought it was an oxidized sheet of metal with slag. Picking it up, it was much lighter than I expected - and clearly made of wood rather than metal. I like things that are not what they seem or are made of a material atypical for their type. At one time, there was a function to this scrap, but now it has been reduced solely to its form.

20c. Japan

7.5x10 inches