Japanese ikebana basket 花籠 (hanakago) by Nitten artist Maeda Chikubosai II

Tall woven bamboo and rattan baluster-shaped ikebana flower basket (hanakago) with a loop handle by Kosuge Kôgetsu (1932-2017). The basket is loosely plaited with bamboo strips in m...

Large and heavy Japanese light brown patinated bronze footed water basin (suiban) with a mottled golden motif. The bowl with stepped concave rings and a n...

Exceptionally shaped bronze vase with a striking ‘coarse’-textured red mottled patina. The bowl subtly shaped like a flower, its slightly concave body flanked by ‘butterfly wing’-sha...

Elegant brown patinated bronze trumpet vase with gold and red sprinkled design. It has an impressive broad outward curved mouth decorated on both sides with the dots. Its slender bod...

A woven bamboo ikebana hanakago (flower basket) with handle circa first half of the 20th century (Taisho or Showa era) by Japanese bamboo master Maeda Chikubosai I (1872-1950). In th...

A tall woven bamboo ikebana hanakago (flower basket) circa first half of the 20th century (Taisho or Showa era) by Japanese bamboo master Maeda Chikubosai I (1872-1950). Hand-woven w...

An important woven bamboo ikebana basket circa first half of the 20th century (Taisho or Showa era) by Japanese bamboo master Maeda Chikubosai I (1872-1950). Chikubosai I was from th...

A large and impressive Japanese basket in the form of a morikago by Maeda Chikubosai I (1872-1950) circa first half of the 20th century. Chikubosai I was from the Kansai Region and active in Sakai, Osaka prefecture. He was instructed by Wada Waichisai I, (1851-1901). Morikago is a shallow open basket with handle. It was traditionally used to display fruits, sometimes flowers, during Sencha tea ceremony. In contrast to Chanoyu, Sencha ceremony uses loose green tea leaves instead of tea powder. The placement of loose fruits in the basket meant that the pattern of the bottom, which is often elaborate, was meant to be visible. This morikago was beautifully constructed with bent bamboo frame and twill plaits for the body. The bottom of the basket features a double diamond pattern achieved with a variation of plover plait. The bifurcated handles was bundle-plated with a rather free spirit approach. They show a poetic suggestion of movement, as if the bamboos were still swaying in the wind. The basket has a copper insert that fits perfectly and it is quite possibly the original. The basket is signed on the base "Chikubosai". The style of the signature shows that it was made by Maeda Chikubosai I. For another Morikago basket by Maeda Chikubosai I, see page 79 of "Masters of Bamboo" by Rinne. For the study of the signature of Chikubosai I "Baskets Master Pieces of Japanese Bamboo Art...