NAGAKURA KEN'ICHI (1952-2018)


A Hanging Bamboo Flower BasketShowa era (1926-1989), circa 1985Of madake bamboo, the container formed from a single stem of bamboo split into multiple strands leaving only a small part uncut, the strands woven with split bamboo in mat plaiting, the basket framed by an expressive free-form composition of bamboo stems, with a faceted lacquered bamboo otoshi (water container), signed on a lacquered bamboo plaque ChikurakutenWith lacquered paper storage box with a paper label inscribed and signed Kago hanaire Issen chikko Nagakura Ken'ichi ("The Splendor of Bamboo in a Single Strand" bamboo basket flower container by Nagakura Ken'ichi) and sealed Chikurakuten, with a production number 1/0 0437 25 3/4in (65.3cm) long
|The first recipient of the Cotsen Bamboo Prize in 2000, Nagakura Ken'ichi (who died earlier this year) studied under his grandfather but was mostly self-taught, drawing on a wide range of sources for his creative inspiration, from European sculpture through American pop art to traditional Japanese forms. On grounds of the style of both the basket and the handwritten label, as well as the use of the name Chikurakuten, the present lot can be assigned to the early years of Nagakura's career.