Japan, Bamboo basket hanakago by Tanabe Chikuunsai II (1910-2000).

Tanabe Chikuunsai II (1910-2000), based in Osaka and Sakai, was the son of Tanabe Chikuunsai I. He was the second member of the Tanabe dynasty to adopt the artist name Chikuunsai, which means "Bamboo Cloud". He inherited this name when he took over the Kaifu-nan-so studio in 1937, following the death of Chikuunsai I. He was among the first artists to sign their works.

In 1930, he became a member of the Naniwa Ranyukai group. The following year, he adopted the studio name Schochikuunsai and was accepted into the 12th Teiten, marking the start of many participations in the Teiten, Shin-Butten, and Niten exhibitions. In changing his style in 1937, he moved away from the somewhat heavy karamono baskets to more open designs like the light and delicate sukashi.

In 1952, he was honored with the Tokusen and Asakura awards at the 8th Nitten exhibition. In 1959, he won the Osaka Prefecture Arts Prize, and in 1981, the Japanese government promoted him to the fourth rank Zuiho-Sho. In 1991, he passed his studio name to his eldest son, who became Chikuunsai III and took the name Icchikusai.

Chikuunsai II remained active in the last years of his life, serving as an advisor for the Nitten exhibitions, and as a member of the Nihon Shin-kôgei Bijutsu Kyokai association and permanent director of the Osaka Kôgei Kyokai association.

This basket, dating from the period between 1937 and 1944, illustrates his ambition and commitment to perpetuating the family legacy in a very personal style. Made of aged hobichiku bamboo, it reveals a rustic aesthetic prized by the aesthetes of the time, particularly the followers of the "Way of Tea". A similar basket was sold by the Eocene Gallery in Kyoto. It was named "Mountain Road".
Dimensions : 31.5 x 27.5 x 28.5 cm.