Suemura Shobun
Hanging Flower Basket "Calm Sea", circa 1960s-1970s
Bamboo and rattan
Size 7½ x 6¾ x 4¼ in. (19 x 17 x 10.5 cm)
T-5091
Leached madake bamboo, rattan; senjōgumi (parallel-line construction); nawame (twining), musubi (knotting); with a black-lacquer otoshi (water holder) cut from a bamboo culm Signed on the reverse on a dark bamboo...
Leached madake bamboo, rattan; senjōgumi (parallel-line construction); nawame (twining), musubi (knotting); with a black-lacquer otoshi (water holder) cut from a bamboo culm
Signed on the reverse on a dark bamboo plaque Shōbun
Comes with its original wood tomobako storage box inscribed outside Nagi kakebanakago (“Calm Sea” Hanging Flower Basket); signed inside Suemura Shōbun saku (made by Suemura Shōbun); seals: Shōbun, Bunzō
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 twining to striking and original visual effect. This basket is an innovative example of this aspect of his practice.
Signed on the reverse on a dark bamboo plaque Shōbun
Comes with its original wood tomobako storage box inscribed outside Nagi kakebanakago (“Calm Sea” Hanging Flower Basket); signed inside Suemura Shōbun saku (made by Suemura Shōbun); seals: Shōbun, Bunzō
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 twining to striking and original visual effect. This basket is an innovative example of this aspect of his practice.