Large Japanese Bamboo Morikago Basket by Torii Ippo

A large Japanese bamboo basket with handle hand-woven by Torii Ippo (1930-) circa second half of 20th century, likely from the early career of the artist's work based on the style. The basket was constructed in the form of a morikago, a shallow and open basket with handle. Traditionally, a morikago was used to display fruits, and also flowers during Sencha tea ceremony, which in contrast to Chanoyu, uses loose green tea leaves instead of tea powder. A morikago basket tends to have a bespoken handle and a finished eye-pleasing pattern on the bottom that was meant to be visible through the display of fruits or flowers.
This basket was entirely woven in irregular plait. The organic irregular oval form with wavy edge matches perfectly with the technique to evoke a free-spirited wabi-sabi aesthetic. The handles were twisted plaited with bifurcation on both ends, which continues to form the rim all around the basket. The basket displays a lovely warm patina and is signed "Ippo" on the bottom.
Torii Ippo (1930-2011) was born in Chubu Region, Honshu. He is the son of Torii Hounsai, a basket maker who deceased before Torii picked up the trade by studying and copying his father's work left behind. As a mostly self-taught bamboo artist, he was active in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture. Torii’s work is in the collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens; De Young Museum; Asian Art Museum San Francisco; Nishio City Museum; and Mint Museum.