Mallet-form hanging flower basket

Artist Iizuka Shokansai (Japanese, 1919–2004)

MediumBamboo

DimensionsHeight: 9 1/2 inches (24.1 cm);
Diameter: 4 3/4 inches (12.1 cm)

ClassificationsDecorative Arts

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

Terms

Decorative Arts
Japanese
Bamboo

Object number2012.015.018

Label CopyIizuka Rôkansai was born in Tokyo to one of the most successful basket-making families of the 20th century. His father and two elder brothers were featured and awarded prizes in the Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts in 1925. Rokansai, in addition to mastering basketry, expanded his creativity by also studying painting, calligraphy, tea ceremony and flower arranging. He is credited with establishing modern Japanese basketry and bamboo art, which he did by inventing new techniques and styles that transcended tradition to create purely sculptural forms and express a personal artistic vision. He promoted this approach through government-organized exhibitions and teaching; his influence set Japanese bamboo basketry on a path to acceptance as a modern art form. As early as the 1920s he was exhibiting in one-person shows, just as a modern painter or sculptor would.

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