Early 20th Century Chinese Willow Basket

Early 20th century woven Chinese willow baskets. These beautifully shaped hand woven basket were originally used in the kitchen and gardens.

Early 20th century woven Chinese willow baskets. These beautifully shaped hand woven basket were originally used in the kitchen and gardens.

This Chinese opera hand puppet is dress in an elegant, embroidered silk dragon robe. The puppet head is of painted wood. The white face usually represents a villain. Puppetry is a major entertainment performance art in Chinese traditional theatre. This traditional performance art was widely used in religious and rural events to exorcise evil spirits. Puppets are also used in festivals such as the Chinese Ghost Festival to scare away ghosts, as well as significant events including births or marriage or to entertain audiences. The puppet theatre has developed into several different genres amongst different areas in China including rod puppets, glove puppets, shadow puppets and string puppets...

This Chinese opera marionette puppet is dress in an elegant embroidered silk dragon robe. The puppet head is of painted ceramic. The ornate headdress...

Pair of fine early 20th century bamboo armchairs with lattice style pattern. Old bamboo furniture is much rarer than the wood furniture...

This small elegant woven bamboo basket was meant to be a hand-hold bag with its brocade interior (which appears original). It was made by Suzuki Gengensai (1891-1950) circa 1910-20s. Suzuki Gengensai was from Kansai region and active in Osaka. He studied bamboo art under Yamashita Kochikusai (1876-1947) and became an independent artist in 1913. He received his artist name Gengensai in 1914 and in 1923 he changed the characters to Gen, a slight written variation of the character. This basket was signed in the former way, which helps to date the piece to the early part of the artist's career circa 1914-1923. The basket is tightly woven in variation of twill plating that creates contrasting bands on the surface. The base was constructed with short bamboo stripes on the corners and side with ornamental knots. A closely related piece (Object Number: 2006.3.651) with slight different surface twill patterns is in the collection of Asian Art Museum San Francisco. Comparing the two, they show almost identical form as well as the base construction. Both also have brocade interior and most likely were woven during the same period. Another documented example can be found on page 180 in "Baskets Masterpieces of Japanese Bamboo Art...

Large Early 20th Century Willow Grain Basket, China Traditionally used to carry rice or other grains, this basket is strong and sturdy. 24 inches (60.96 cm) high by 16 inches (40.64...

This Chinese reed basket from the early 1900s was crafted using willow reeds that are painted in red and black. Mantou baskets were used to steam M...

A charming early 20th century French vineyard basket hand-woven from reeds with a heavy rim, rope handles, and wooden slat bottom. Perfect for laundry, or filled with throw pillows a...

Early 20th century oak splint gathering basket with a large wood handle and plenty of room for holding berries, vegetables, or any myriad of floral. Today it's perfect for hanging on...

A wonderful early 20th century hand-woven oak splint gathering basket with a single bent oak handle, a double banded rim, and a lovely wonky shape. Found in Wisconsin.

A stunning early 20th century Native American Apache tray basket constructed from hand-woven willow and devil's claw with a slightly darker willow band aro...