Water Rail Flute Flower Holder (Hanaire)
Shōno Shōunsai Japanese
Not on view
Although Shōno Shōunsai experimented with abstract bamboo sculptures, beginning in 1965 he returned to making more tranquil, functional works, which he submitted to the Japanese Traditional Art Crafts Exhibitions. Shōunsai’s “quiet” works, such as this simple flower holder, nonetheless possess a fundamental power. This piece is characteristic of Shōunsai’s later works, in which he moved away from complex plaiting techniques and focused instead on the inherent natural beauty (or “spirit”) of bamboo. The overall form resembles that of a bamboo flute used in Japan to imitate the cry of a rail (a type of skittish waterfowl) in order to attract the bird. The piece was probably inspired by wabi cha–style wall vases (ichijū-giri) pioneered by in the sixteenth century.
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