Flower basket

Object Details

• Artist

  Tanabe Chikuunsai II 田辺竹雲斎 (1910-2000)

• Description

  A tall flower basket, with a fixed, arched handle attached to the flared rim. The square sides taper to a narrow, flat base. Although tightly woven of very thin strips of bamboo, much of the basket has an open weave pattern, somewhat like a wicker weave. The basket does have other woven decorative elements, however; most notable are the circular and knotted patterns on the handle. Accompanying the basket is a plain, cylindrical bamboo liner which fits inside. Both the basket and the liner are coated with a dark, brownish-red material, presumed to be lacquer.

• Signatures

  Signed on the base.

• Inscriptions

  An English-language inscription on the inside of the box lid explains that the basket was chosen by the mayor of Kyoto in 1951 to be presented to an American woman in appreciation for her service to the city.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Origin

  Sakai, Osaka-fu, Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds

• Type

  Container

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1950s

• Name

  Tanabe, Chikuunsai

• Place

  Japan, Osaka-fu, Sakai

• Topic

  Art, Showa era (1926 - 1989), Japanese Art, Lacquer, Flowers

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Containers