Moon Flask–Shaped Flower Basket (Henko-gata hanakago)

ca. 1955–65

Not on view

Tanabe Chikuunsai II excelled in light openwork, thousand-line construction, and sophisticated coarse-weave works of smoked bamboo. This unusual flower basket (following his father’s similar composition) was inspired by Chinese moon flasks, a type of porcelain vessel produced beginning in the fifteenth century. The basket’s flattened circular body has a narrow, cylindrical neck, a flat base, and two arched side handles. The front and back of the body were made with circular plaiting, resulting in a bull’s-eye pattern typically seen on a basket’s base.

Artwork Details

二代田邊竹雲斎造　抱月扁壺形花籃
Title: Moon Flask–Shaped Flower Basket (Henko-gata hanakago)
Artist: Tanabe Chikuunsai II (Japanese, 1910–2000)
Period: Shōwa period (1926–89)
Date: ca. 1955–65
Culture: Japan
Medium: Smoked bamboo and rattan
Dimensions: H. 24 7/16 in. (62 cm); W. 11 13/16 in. (30 cm); D. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)
Classification: Bamboo
Credit Line: Gift of Diane Abbey, 2019
Object Number: 2019.425.41
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Tanabe Chikuunsai II

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Round Fruit Basket (Morikago) with Antique Bamboo Arrows, Tanabe Chikuunsai II Japanese, Smoked dwarf bamboo, antique bamboo arrows, and rattan, Japan — Round Fruit Basket (Morikago) with Antique Bamboo Arrows
Tanabe Chikuunsai II
ca. 1937–42

Prosperous Peony Basket (Botan hanakago), Tanabe Chikuunsai II Japanese, Timber bamboo, rattan, and lacquer, Japan — Prosperous Peony Basket (Botan hanakago)
Tanabe Chikuunsai II
ca. 1940–50

Gourd-Shaped Flower Basket (Hanakago), Tanabe Chikuunsai II Japanese, Timber bamboo and rattan, Japan — Gourd-Shaped Flower Basket (Hanakago)
Tanabe Chikuunsai II
mid-20th century

Dancing Frog Flower Basket (Hanakago), Hayakawa Shōkosai III Japanese, Twisted (henchiku) bamboo and rattan, Japan — Dancing Frog Flower Basket (Hanakago)
Hayakawa Shōkosai III
1918

Ryūrikyō Hanging Flower Basket (Ryūrikyō-shiki tsurioki hanakago), Tanabe Chikuunsai I Japanese, Smoked dwarf bamboo and rattan, Japan — Ryūrikyō Hanging Flower Basket (Ryūrikyō-shiki tsurioki hanakago)
Tanabe Chikuunsai I
ca. 1900–20

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