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Hanging Flower Basket in the Form of a Fisherman’s Creel (T-2301)

Creator: Ueda Shounsai
Offered by: Thomsen Gallery

Description
Susudake bamboo; mat plaiting over double verticals, wrapping. Signed underneath: Made by Shounsai.

Comes with a fitted wood tomobako storage box inscribed outside "Hanging flower basket [in the form of] a fisherman’s creel"; signed inside Ueda Shounsai; seal: Shounsai

A pupil of Tanabe Chikuunsai I, Ueda Shounsai became an independent artist in 1917; for a very similar basket by Tanabe Chikuunsai II (1910–2000), see Baskets: Masterpieces of Japanese Bamboo Art, 1850–2015 [Catalogue of the Naej Collection], 2017, no. 138. The narrow-necked form of the basket is based on those carried at the waist by Japanese fishermen; their use in flower arrangment can be traced back to the great teamaster Sen no Rikyu (1522–1591), who spotted one being worn by a fisherman on the banks of the Katsura River and immediately purchased it to hold a flower arrangement for his patron, the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598).

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Notes:	Signed on object and on storage box
Origin:	Japan
Period:	1920-1949
Materials:	Bamboo
Condition:	Good. Excellent condition.
Creation Date:	1930s
Styles / Movements:	Asian, Traditional
Patterns:	Asian/Oriental, Textured, Traditional
Dealer Reference #:	T-2301
Incollect Reference #:	567129

Dimensions

W.	7.2 in;	H.	7.72 in;	D.	4.13 in;
W.	18.3 cm;	H.	19.6 cm;	D.	10.5 cm;

Message from Seller:

Thomsen gallery, located in a townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, offers important Japanese paintings and works of art to collectors and museums worldwide. The gallery specializes in Japanese screens and scrolls; in early Japanese tea ceramics from the medieval through the Edo periods; in masterpieces of ikebana bamboo baskets; and in gold lacquer objects.