Japanese Handwoven Basket, Kago, Japan, 20th Century

Beautifully handwoven basket from Japan, crafted with natural fibers in a traditional technique. Each piece demonstrates the refined balance of utility and simplicity characteristic ...

Beautifully handwoven basket from Japan, crafted with natural fibers in a traditional technique. Each piece demonstrates the refined balance of utility and simplicity characteristic ...

An exceptional example of Yanagi Gori — a traditional Japanese storage chest woven from koriyanagi (a type of supple willow). Produced in the early 20th century, this handcrafted box...

A finely carved Japanese wooden flower vessel in the form of a traditional bucket (oke). Once associated with the aesthetics of tea culture and seasonal flower display, this piece em...

Vintage woven Morikago basket features shallow open basket shape with wide rim. The wider bamboo strips that form the complex pattern on the bottom of the basket and divide into 4 th...

A large and impressive Japanese basket in the form of a morikago by Maeda Chikubosai I (1872-1950) circa first half of the 20th century. Chikubosai I was from the Kansai Region and active in Sakai, Osaka prefecture. He was instructed by Wada Waichisai I, (1851-1901). Morikago is a shallow open basket with handle. It was traditionally used to display fruits, sometimes flowers, during Sencha tea ceremony. In contrast to Chanoyu, Sencha ceremony uses loose green tea leaves instead of tea powder. The placement of loose fruits in the basket meant that the pattern of the bottom, which is often elaborate, was meant to be visible. This morikago was beautifully constructed with bent bamboo frame and twill plaits for the body. The bottom of the basket features a double diamond pattern achieved with a variation of plover plait. The bifurcated handles was bundle-plated with a rather free spirit approach. They show a poetic suggestion of movement, as if the bamboos were still swaying in the wind. The basket has a copper insert that fits perfectly and it is quite possibly the original. The basket is signed on the base "Chikubosai". The style of the signature shows that it was made by Maeda Chikubosai I. For another Morikago basket by Maeda Chikubosai I, see page 79 of "Masters of Bamboo" by Rinne. For the study of the signature of Chikubosai I "Baskets Master Pieces of Japanese Bamboo Art...

This woven basket is actually a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used as a portable hibachi for lighting tobacco pipes. Believed to have evolved from the traditional accessories of Japanese incense ceremony, tabako-bons first came into use in the 17th century and were often beautifully decorated to display one's wealth and status. This tabako-bon is woven of smoked bamboo and features a ceramic...

A mid-20th century Chinese woven reed basket with a rolled banded top wrapped in flat reeds.