Multitasking device for the eccentric, elderly gentleman: T.C. Donobedian’s Paris Flea - Fishing Rod Dandy Cane - 1stdibs
“…beautifully made of brass and Japanese ash. The steel ball bearings are ferried up the bucket lift, roll down the ramp to the large wheel then run along the switchbacks and back to the bottom.” Marvelous French Mechanical “Mouse Trap” Clock - 1stdibs
Fascinating… I wasn’t even aware of this as an art form. Consider me schooled: “Chikuunsai was at the apex of his career when he made this outstanding basket using smoked Hobichiku bamboo with rich patina for the basket, plaiting the sides in the hemp-leaf pattern and the bottom in the hexagonal muttsume pattern. The bold handle of Kinmeichiku bamboo also has an unusually beautiful patina and strength through its bent form. In fact, the title that Chikuunsai gave the basket, »Crouching Tiger«, derives from this powerful handle.
The basket comes with its original lacquered bamboo otoshi tube to hold flowers and water and with its original fitted and inscribed kiri-wood box.
For two similar baskets using the same types of bamboo, see Japanese Bamboo Baskets: Masterworks of Form & Texture from the Collection of Lloyd Cotsen (Los Angeles: Cotsen Occasional Press, 1999), item number 85 by Chikuunsai I and item number 86 by his son Chikuunsai II.”
Ikebana flower basket entitled “Crouching Tiger” by bamboo artisan Tanabe Chikuunsai I (1877 - 1937)
