Private collection, Japan Acquired from the above by the present owner
Catalogue Essay
Using Madake (timber bamboo) and rattan, the artist combined diagonal and hexagonal plaiting to make this double-walled vessel. Incised signature on the bottom reads Hakuunsai. The basket comes with a lacquered bamboo otoshi (water container) and its original fitted kiri-wood tomobako storage box signed Hakuunsai tsukuru (Made by Hakuunsai) with seal Hakuunsai.
A native of Beppu City in Kyushu, Japan's southwesternmost main island, Shiraishi (birth name: Tadayuki) trained under his father Hakuunsai I, succeeding to the family title as Hakuunsai II in 1948. He was among those who played a pioneering role in the evolution of Beppu's basket-making industry, helping to move its focus away from production of everyday items toward a greater emphasis on high-quality, creative bamboo art. He exhibited widely at the local, national, and international level and was commissioned to make works for many dignitaries including Prime Minister Nakasone, Emperor Akihito, and Kim Young-sam, President of South Korea.
Like many baskets from Beppu, this bamboo flower container derives much of its aesthetic impact from the combination of contrasting plaiting techniques.