THREE BAMBOO FLOWER BASKETSOne by Tanabe Chikuunsai (1877-1937), Taisho (1912-1926) to Showa (1926-1989) era, mid to late 20th centuryThe first a hanging basket of the Ryu Rikyo type,madake (timber bamboo) and rattan;mutsume-ami hexagonal plaiting,tobi gozame-ami ('skipping' mat plaiting),asanohapound hexagonal plaiting (base), knotted and wrapped rattan rim, bamboo and rattan handle, signedChikuunsai kore o tsukuru (Chikuunsai made this),26cm x 35cm (10¼in x 13¾in); the second in the form of a Chinese 'arrow vase',madake and rattan plaited in a variety of techniques faithfully following the typical form of a Chinese 'arrow' vase, with two cylinders of bamboo applied either side of the top of the neck, with a bamboootoshi,unsigned,30.3cm (12in) high; the third boldly formed,madake strips, natural twigs of bamboo, twigs of another plant, and staining, of roughly spherical form, free-style plaiting interwoven with bamboo rhizomes, hexagonal plaiting (base),unsigned,38cm x 30cm (15in x 11¾in). (3).Provenance: Ryu Rikyo is a Chinese-style name used by the pioneering Nanga (Chinese-inspired literati) artist Yanagisawa Kien (1704-1758); Tanabe Chikuunsai I was often inspired by Chinese baskets depicted in Yanagisawa's paintings.