Uroko-ami Square Flower Basket by Tanabe Chikuunsai II

In this basket we find several key features linking pre- and post-war Japanese basketry. In form and precision, it remembers the tradition of fine formal basketry associated with the great masters of early 20th century Japan and their aesthetic references to earlier China. At the same time, the open-plait and simplified geometric form hint at the innovations to come in post-war basketry. Such works help us to understand Chikuunsai II's key role in these two periods of Japanese basketry--as he was one of the few artists to feature so prominently in both.