Abundant Harvest

Artist Tanabe Chikuunsai I (Japanese, 1877–1937)

Dateca. 1912–1930

MediumBamboo

Dimensions19 × 8 × 7 1/2 inches (48.3 × 20.3 × 19.1 cm)

ClassificationsDecorative Arts

Credit LineBequest of Ritalou Rogow Harris, Class of 1957, and Robert O. Harris

Terms

Decorative Arts
Japanese
Bamboo

Object number2012.015.010

Label CopyDuring the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japan modernized and began to adopt Western concepts of art and craft, prompting those at the forefront of basketry to assert themselves as individual, creative artists, and to establish lineages in the tradition of other Japanese art forms. Among the most revered lineages of Japanese bamboo artists, the Tanabe family gained renown with Chinese style baskets made by patriarch Chikuunsai I for flower arrangements accompanying sencha tea practice. Unlike chanoyu, the tea ceremony that involves serving matcha (powdered green tea), the sencha steeped-tea tradition revolves around the appreciation of karamono (Chinese things).

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