Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Gourd-shaped hanging wall basket for flowers (Kake-hanakago)

second half 19th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 099
The bamboo basket was made to hold a small flower arrangement. Not only do flowers and plants indicate the changes of the seasons, so much admired in Japanese culture, but they are also associated with festivities, and flower arrangements are integral to tea gatherings. The shape of this flower basket has numerous associations—gourds are an auspicious symbol of fertility and commercial success, appear in Daoist legends, and were used to hold water and sake.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 瓢箪形掛花籠
  • Title: Gourd-shaped hanging wall basket for flowers (Kake-hanakago)
  • Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
  • Date: second half 19th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Bamboo, rattan
  • Dimensions: H. (with stem) 20 1/2 in. (52.1 cm); W. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)

  • Classification: Basketry
  • Credit Line: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
  • Object Number: 91.1.2078a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Boat-Shaped Fruit Basket, Bamboo (madake and rattan), Japan or China
Boat-Shaped Fruit Basket
Japan or China
late 19th century
Seated female, Ceramic, paint, Halaf
Seated female
Halaf
ca. 5600–5000 BCE
Shō, Bamboo wood, metal, Japanese
Shō
Japanese
19th century
Basket, Bamboo and rattan, Japan
Basket
Japan
19th century

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.