Japanese Bamboo Basket Ikebana by Hayakawa Shokosai IV

A lovely Japanese bamboo basket by Hayakawa Shokosai IV, the fourth generation of the Shokosai lineage, one of the best known in the Japanese Bamboo art. The basket was made in irregular plaiting using Phoenix Tail Bamboo (Bambusa multiplex ), a subspecies that grows in tropical. The bulbous body with two ear handles displays a strong free spirit, which betrays the demand on the technique. The basket was coated in a transparent lacquer to allow the appreciation of the beauty of the raw material. The storage box Tomobako retains full inscription. On the exterior of the lid, it was marked with "Phoenix Bamboo flower basket, with ear handles". On the interior of the lid, it was scripted the date "Showa 3rd winter" (1928, when the artist was 26 years old, 5 year after he became the family head), and it was further signed "fourth generation of Shokosai" with a red seal. A complete and great example of the early work of the artist. Size shown is the basket. The measurement of the box is 9.65"w x 9.65"d x 13.87".
Hayakawa Shokosai IV (1902-1975) was born "Hayakawa Tadahiro". He was the eldest son of Shokosai III and succeeded to the family title at the early age of 21. He learned his craft by studying finished works and undoing their plaiting to understand the techniques, rather than by apprenticing under another master weaver. He is known for associating his work with the art of scholars, Buddhist monks, politicians, artisans and remained close to Sencha tea schools. After the family home in Osaka was destroyed during World War II, he moved to Kyoto where the family has resided to the present. He served as the president of Japanese Society of Bamboo Art and is the father of the Shokosai V (1932-2011).