Tanabe Chikuunsai I (Japon, 1877- 1937) Hanakago Kōfuku-ji... Lot 22

Tanabe Chikuunsai I (Japon, 1877- 1937) Hanakago Kōfuku-ji - 1898 Bamboo 63 x 28 x 28 cm Signed underneath "Chikuunsai" Tomobako (original wooden box) signed and inscribed by the artist. Titled on the outside of the lid: Kōfuku-ji Inscribed on the inside of the lid: "I have created this piece in the 34th year of the Meiji Era when we have moved our home to Naniwa*, living in Sakaiura" *Naniwa is nowadays Osaka. Provenance: Mingei Gallery, Paris Colette Ghysels collection, Brussels Tanabe Chikuunsai I is one of the foremost hanakago bamboo basket makers of the early 20th C. The collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York holds three hanakago of this prominent member of literati artistic circles, a social network he used to advance recognition of bamboo craftsmanship. This basket, “Kofuku-ji” is named after one of the seven important Buddhist temples in Nara. Kofuku-ji was especially renowned for its Rokusō-an, or Six Window Hut, and considered one of the San-meiseki (三名席, Three Famous Tearooms).