初代早川尚古斎造 　茶籃（提藍）|Basket for Transporting Sencha Tea-Ceremony Utensils (Chakago or Teiran)

Hayakawa Shōkosai I

ca. 1877–80s · Rattan and brocaded silk · Asian Art

Hayakawa Shōkosai I appears to have been the first craftsman of baskets to sign his compositions, partly to indicate that his Chinese-style (karamono) pieces had actually been made by a Japanese master. Shōkosai’s works were largely utensils for use in the period’s thriving culture around sencha. In 1877, one of his lidded baskets—intended, like the example on view, for transporting a tea set—received the Phoenix Prize at the First Domestic Industrial Exposition.

Artist

Hayakawa Shōkosai I

Date

ca. 1877–80s

Medium

Rattan and brocaded silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Diane and Arthur Abbey, 2019