Hanging flower basket

Flower basket, made of bamboo, with a copper alloy chain, consisting of three concentric vessels as follows: a) an outer cylinder, made of diagonal strips of bamboo lashed together at rim and bottom; b) an inner basket, open hexagonal weave; and c) a liner, made of a large diameter section of bamboo, with the node base as the vessel’s bottom. The liner is placed inside the inner basket, and can easily be removed. The inner basket is securely attached to the outer basket with three connecting bamboo strips at the top and a more elaborate base support below. The outer and inner baskets are stained a dark reddish-brown; the liner is coated with urushi of the same color. The chain hooks onto three loops along the outer basket rim, joining together to form one long chain with a hook at the far end. The artist’s mark is incised on the underside of the base supporting the inner basket. There is a paper label on the outside of the bamboo liner.

Maker(s)
Artist: Tanabe Chikuunsai II 田辺竹雲斎 (1910-2000)
Historical period(s)
Showa era, 1960-1965
Medium
Bamboo, lacquer, and metal
Dimensions
H x Diam (assembled): 119.2 x 29.6 cm (46 15/16 x 11 5/8 in)
Geography
Japan, Osaka
Credit Line
Anonymous gift in memory of Douglas W. Overton, Executive Director, The Japan Society, New York (1952-67)
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1995.90a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Container
Type

Basket

Keywords
bamboo, Japan, Showa era (1926 - 1989)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Flower basket, made of bamboo, with a copper alloy chain, consisting of three concentric vessels as follows: a) an outer cylinder, made of diagonal strips of bamboo lashed together at rim and bottom; b) an inner basket, open hexagonal weave; and c) a liner, made of a large diameter section of bamboo, with the node base as the vessel's bottom. The liner is placed inside the inner basket, and can easily be removed. The inner basket is securely attached to the outer basket with three connecting bamboo strips at the top and a more elaborate base support below. The outer and inner baskets are stained a dark reddish-brown; the liner is coated with urushi of the same color. The chain hooks onto three loops along the outer basket rim, joining together to form one long chain with a hook at the far end. The artist's mark is incised on the underside of the base supporting the inner basket. There is a paper label on the outside of the bamboo liner.

Inscription(s)

There is a paper label on the outside of the bamboo liner that reads, "Gift of the Japan Decorative Arts Association, 1965."

Marking(s)

The artist's mark is incised on the underside of the base supporting the inner basket.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort. Twentieth-century Asian Crafts in the Sackler Gallery. vol. XLIII no. 3. p. 19, fig. 4.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
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