Offering or Fruit Tray (Morikago) with Intersecting Circles Design

Shōno Shōunsai Japanese

Not on view

Shōno Shōunsai, born to a farming family in Beppu on the island of Kyūshū, decided at seventeen to become a bamboo craftsman after seeing an exquisite Chinese-style flower basket at a local exhibition. Chosen to make basketry pieces for the Imperial Household, Shōunsai began participating in the major government-sponsored exhibitions in the 1940s, winning several awards and becoming one of the leading bamboo artists of the postwar period.

This fruit or offering tray is made of smoked timber bamboo (susudake). The center plate of the four-lobe tray, which was likely shown at the 1947 Nitten exhibition, is twill plaited (ajiro-ami), while the curving walls of line construction are decorated with rattan accents.

Offering or Fruit Tray (Morikago) with Intersecting Circles Design, Shōno Shōunsai (Japanese, 1904–1970), Smoked timber bamboo and rattan, Japan

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Offering or Fruit Tray (Morikago) with Intersecting Circles Design, Shōno Shōunsai (Japanese, 1904–1970), Smoked timber bamboo and rattan, Japan
Offering or Fruit Tray (Morikago) with Intersecting Circles Design, Shōno Shōunsai (Japanese, 1904–1970), Smoked timber bamboo and rattan, Japan

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