Madake bamboo, rattan, lacquer; twining, diagonal plaiting, circular plaiting (base), wrapping, knotting Signed underneath: Chikuunsai (Chikuunsai) This is one of several Chinese-derived basket forms that the first Tanabe Chikuunsai, widely...
This is one of several Chinese-derived basket forms that the first Tanabe Chikuunsai, widely regarded as one of the most influential of all Japanese bamboo artists, developed during the peak of his career in the 1920s. The original inspiration may perhaps have been a special commission that he received from his home town of Sakai (in present-day Osaka) to make a fruit basket to commemorate the silver wedding anniversary of the Taisho Emperor in 1925; see A+C VWG, Baskets: Masterpieces of Japanese Bamboo Art, 1850-2015, [Catalogue of the Naej Collection], 2017, cat. no. 100/