TANABE CHIKUUNSAI I (1877–1937)
Taisho era (1912-1926), 1926A handled flower basket of susudake (smoked bamboo) plaited in free-style diagonal weave overlaid with additional free-style elements, the handle boldly formed from a section of bamboo and secured on each side with elaborate rattan knotting and further passages of knotting on the sides, the otoshi (water container) a facetted and lacquered section of bamboo fitted with two pieces of bamboo to support flowers, signed underneath with incised characters Chikuunsai kore o tsukuru (Chikuunsai made this); with a wood tomobako storage box inscribed and signed Susudake basho-ami tsubogata hanakago (A pot-shaped smoked bamboo flower basket in banana-leaf plaiting); Taisho hinoe-tora chushu Sakaifu Nanso Chikuunsai kore o tsukuru (Chikuunsai of the Nanso Studio made this in Sakai in August 1926) and sealed: Chikuunsai. 56.5cm x 21.6cm x 20cm (22 1/4in x 8 1/2in x 7 7/8in). (3).
注脚
For other baskets by Tanabe Chikuunsai I, plaited in the same 'banana-leaf' style and dating from 1923, compare A+C VWG, Baskets: Masterpieces of Japanese Bamboo Art, 1850-2015, n.p. [Catalogue of the Naej Collection], cat. no.91, and for another with a similar handle, compare Stéphane Martin ed., Fendre L'Air: Art of Bamboo in Japan, Paris, exhibition catalogue, Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris, 17 November 2018-7 April 2019, p.79.