At 1stDibs, there are many versions of the ideal meiji ikebana basket for your home. Each meiji ikebana basket for sale was constructed with extraordinary care, often using
bamboo,
wood and
bronze. There are many kinds of the meiji ikebana basket you’re looking for, from those produced as long ago as the 19th Century to those made as recently as the 20th Century. A meiji ikebana basket, designed in the
Art Nouveau or
Folk Art style, is generally a popular piece of furniture.
From 1868 to 1912, Emperor Mutsuhito oversaw an era of transformation in Japan. Formerly a country of feudalism and isolation, Japan entered an age of modernization influenced by newly established trade and exchange with the West. The Meiji period, or period of “enlightened rule,” also saw the global impact of the East Asian country’s culture. Japanese Meiji furniture was exhibited at expositions from Paris to San Francisco and created for export.
Prior to the Meiji era, furniture was mostly made by commission for the ruling class; now there were new domestic and international markets. European styles like Japonisme appropriated Japanese design while craftsmen in places like Wales and England employed japanning, a varnishing technique that approximated the appearance of lacquer for the surfaces of furnishings.
Meiji furniture made for Japanese homes and buildings constructed in Western styles resulted in taller tables, chairs, cabinets with large drawers and other features. The government invested in areas such as transportation and communication, and because people could freely choose occupations after the restrictions of feudalism, industries of various types were energized by expressive new ideas during those years. Art schools were formed and, for the first time, design was an area of study in the country, leading to the evolution of professional design as a career by the 1890s.
The work of Japanese designers was transmitted widely through lavishly illustrated pattern books that included designs for screens and lacquerware for the home. While screens today may be of use as decorative accents or partitions to ensure privacy in one’s space, Japanese screens were adorned with paintings and were featured in performing arts such as concerts, tea ceremonies and more. The color illustrations that characterize Meiji woodblock prints, a genre of Japanese art that grew out of 17th-century developments in printing and book publishing, depicted the sweeping changes that the era brought to East Asia.
Although it was a time of societal and cultural shifts, a bolstered interest in art and design elevated Japanese craft traditions. From colorful porcelain table lamps with silk shades and hardwood tables decorated with dark lacquer to cabinets featuring iron hardware and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, Meiji furniture showcased Japan’s artistic heritage to the world.
Find a collection of antique Japanese Meiji period case pieces and storage cabinets, decorative objects, wall decorations and more furniture on 1stDibs.
Bamboo — the reed-like, woody grass revered the world over for its attractiveness, durability and unbeatable versatility — has a purity and elegance that Ming Dynasty dignitaries, European royals and workaday folks alike have appreciated for centuries. Antique and vintage bamboo furniture can help introduce an air of relaxation in any space, and pairs well with chinoiserie decor and a range of porcelain decorative objects.
So why is bamboo — in its many forms — so enduringly popular? The grass itself is classic-looking and pleasingly geometric, and it evokes a subtle exoticism that’s both glamorous and (due in large part to its sustainability) highly attainable.
Bamboo is harder than mahogany. It’s a rigid and hollow reed, and as such it is not rattan, which is dense, steamable and bendable, and has become its own ultimate decorative-arts chameleon over the years. But like rattan, bamboo is an organic material that provides a link to nature, helping us to bring a bit of the outside in, in an elegant yet no-frills way that seems comforting and familiar. Plus, bamboo’s lightness and slight irregularities make it the perfect counterpoint to heavy-feeling interiors.
For organic modern interiors — or any space that would benefit from a dose of the natural world — a variety of vintage bamboo outdoor furniture, side tables, dining chairs and more can be found on 1stDibs.
As decorative objects in your space, antique, new and vintage bowls and baskets make for a versatile addition to any corner of your living room, dining room or the console table in your foyer or entryway. Whether they’re positioned as a focal point for the family dining table or an accent on the shelving in your home office, or perhaps you’re just endeavoring to add minimalist ceramics throughout your home, an alluring art-glass centerpiece bowl or antique rustic fisherman’s basket is an easy way to elevate high-trafficked areas of your apartment or house.
Aside from the obvious functionality that a decorative bowl or basket brings to your kitchen, displaying such items behind the glass doors of a vintage storage cabinet or on your open kitchen shelving allows you to add a touch of personality and flair to the space, particularly if you’re accustomed to serving cocktails while you cook or if the kitchen is a common area for gathering and unpacking the events of the day.
As your bookcase is so much more than a place to, well, store books, adding a decorative bowl or basket — a mid-century modern work or an Art Nouveau–-era piece designed by French art-glass makers Daum — to the space where you keep your art monographs and coveted first editions can draw attention to your treasured library.
For the tranquil California coastal-style interiors you’ve worked so hard to create, fill a hand-carved wooden bowl on your console table with glass fishing floats or seashells, while a tall woven vessel by your front door can be populated with leafy green plants.
For anywhere and everywhere in your home, find a wide variety of antique or modern decorative baskets and bowls on 1stDibs today.