Tanabe Chikuunsai II (1910-2000)
Item number: T-1289Size: H 23.6" x D 8.3" (60,5 x 21 cm)
Age: 1950's
This tall bamboo ikebana basket in double-gourd shape is woven with very narrow strips of split bamboo. The attractive shape is enhanced by the superb details throughout the basket using numerous weaving techniques. In spite of its size, it is surprisingly light in weight.
The basket is signed on the bottom with an incised signature reading »Chikuunsai kore tsukuru« or »this made by Chikuunsai«. It comes with the original fitted kiri wood box, which is inscribed on the top of the lid »Hyô-gata Taka-te Hanakago« or »Gourdshaped Flower Basket with Tall Handle.« On the inside of the lid it is signed »Sakaifu Nansô Chikuunsai zô« or »made by Chikuunsai of the Nansô Studio in Sakai-fu« and bears two red seals reading »Tanabe no in« (»seal of Tanabe«) and Chikuunsai.
The artist name Chikuunsai belongs to the Tanabe family, one of the most important bamboo-basket makers of Osaka. Chikuunsai I lived from 1877 to 1937; this basket was made by his son Chikuunsai II; he in turn passed on the artist name to his oldest son, Chikuunsai III (b. 1940), in 1991.
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