MAEDA CHIKUBOSAI I (1872-1950) TALL HANDLED BAMBOO FLOWER BASKET, SHOWA PERIOD 昭和 初代前田竹房斎 提梁竹編籠花入 madake (timber bamboo), twining, wrapping, the tall handle wrapped with a spiral band, the body and handle with passages of decorative knotting, signed on the base Chikuyosai kore o tsukuru, and with lacquered bamboo otoshi (water container), without tomobako (47cm high) Qty: (1) Provenance: Private collection, England; acquired from Sakoda Art Gallery, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo, Japan Note: Maeda Chikubōsai I was one of the most important bamboo artists working in the first half of the 20th century. Late in the Taishō era (1912-1926), he made presentation baskets on behalf of the Imperial Household, for which he became famous. Chikubōsai held a series of one-man exhibitions at the Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tokyo from 1926 until the late 1930s. He was pivotal in promoting individual expression in the bamboo arts.