Suemura Shobun
“Archaic Hairstyle” Flower Basket, circa 1960s-1970s
Size 4½ x 17¼ x 10 in. (11.5 x 43.5 x 25.5 cm)
T-5089
Madake and susudake (smoked) bamboo, stain; splitting, senjōgumi (parallel-line construction), nawame (twining) gozame-ami (mat plaiting); with a black-lacquer otoshi (water holder) cut from a bamboo culm Signed underneath Shōbun Comes...
Madake and susudake (smoked) bamboo, stain; splitting, senjōgumi (parallel-line construction), nawame (twining) gozame-ami (mat plaiting); with a black-lacquer otoshi (water holder) cut from a bamboo culm
Signed underneath Shōbun
Comes with the original wood tomobako storage box inscribed outside Nukisukashi-ami mizura hanakago (Pulled Out and Openwork Plaited Mizura Flower Basket); signed on the base Suemura Shōbun saku (made by Suemura Shōbun); seals: Shōbun, Bunzō
A relentless innovator, Suemura Shōbun crafted this striking bamboo basket using a series of highly original techniques. He began by selecting a thick bamboo culm and cutting a section that retained a node at each end. He then split the culm lengthwise into two half-cylinders. From one of these halves, he meticulously sliced around 30 narrow strips, keeping them attached at both ends to the nodes. This delicate process likely included the demanding task of preparing the bamboo—removing the inner woody pith, then leaching and polishing the surface. This preparation had to be done while the strips were still connected, rather than after fully splitting the bamboo into separate strands, as is more typical.
To shape the basket, Suemura probably soaked the bamboo to soften it, then pressed the two ends together. This caused the strips to fan out, forming the basket’s elegant, curved silhouette. He temporarily stabilized the form—likely using a vise—then wove the strips using a variety of plaiting techniques. Finally, he added four darker bamboo supports to stabilize the base when placed on a flat surface.
The basket is titled Mizura, referencing a traditional hairstyle worn by adult men in ancient Japan. This style involved parting the hair down the middle and tying it into buns on either side of the head. Mizura appear in depictions of male haniwa clay tomb figures from the Kofun period (ca. 300–538 AD) and in early portrayals of historical figures such as Prince Shōtoku (574–622), who was often invoked in the twentieth century as a symbol of Japan’s cultural and spiritual heritage.
A native of Osaka, from 1936 Suemura Shōbun was a leading pupil of Yamamoto Chikuryōsai—one of the great pioneers of Japanese bamboo art. Achieving independent status in 1941, Shōbun was accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition from 1951, then from 1962 he showed his work at the Nihon Gendai Kōgei Ten (Japanese Contemporary Crafts Exhibition). His work is held in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others. Working in a wide variety of techniques, Shōbun made many baskets in which traditional ami (plaiting) is replaced by parallel-line construction, with unwoven strands secured by horizontal plaiting or twining to striking and original visual effect. This basket ranks among the most innovative examples of this aspect of his practice.
Signed underneath Shōbun
Comes with the original wood tomobako storage box inscribed outside Nukisukashi-ami mizura hanakago (Pulled Out and Openwork Plaited Mizura Flower Basket); signed on the base Suemura Shōbun saku (made by Suemura Shōbun); seals: Shōbun, Bunzō
A relentless innovator, Suemura Shōbun crafted this striking bamboo basket using a series of highly original techniques. He began by selecting a thick bamboo culm and cutting a section that retained a node at each end. He then split the culm lengthwise into two half-cylinders. From one of these halves, he meticulously sliced around 30 narrow strips, keeping them attached at both ends to the nodes. This delicate process likely included the demanding task of preparing the bamboo—removing the inner woody pith, then leaching and polishing the surface. This preparation had to be done while the strips were still connected, rather than after fully splitting the bamboo into separate strands, as is more typical.
To shape the basket, Suemura probably soaked the bamboo to soften it, then pressed the two ends together. This caused the strips to fan out, forming the basket’s elegant, curved silhouette. He temporarily stabilized the form—likely using a vise—then wove the strips using a variety of plaiting techniques. Finally, he added four darker bamboo supports to stabilize the base when placed on a flat surface.
The basket is titled Mizura, referencing a traditional hairstyle worn by adult men in ancient Japan. This style involved parting the hair down the middle and tying it into buns on either side of the head. Mizura appear in depictions of male haniwa clay tomb figures from the Kofun period (ca. 300–538 AD) and in early portrayals of historical figures such as Prince Shōtoku (574–622), who was often invoked in the twentieth century as a symbol of Japan’s cultural and spiritual heritage.
A native of Osaka, from 1936 Suemura Shōbun was a leading pupil of Yamamoto Chikuryōsai—one of the great pioneers of Japanese bamboo art. Achieving independent status in 1941, Shōbun was accepted into the Nitten National Exhibition from 1951, then from 1962 he showed his work at the Nihon Gendai Kōgei Ten (Japanese Contemporary Crafts Exhibition). His work is held in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others. Working in a wide variety of techniques, Shōbun made many baskets in which traditional ami (plaiting) is replaced by parallel-line construction, with unwoven strands secured by horizontal plaiting or twining to striking and original visual effect. This basket ranks among the most innovative examples of this aspect of his practice.
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