Period:Unknown Production date:1980 (designed in)
Materials:bamboo, gold, silk, jade, lacquer,
Technique:lacquered, plaited (basketry), carved,
Dimensions:Width: 140 millimetres
Description:
Bamboo basket bag, the woven basketwork lacquered in 24-carat gold, with a flat band around the rim. Black silk panels are attached to the top of basket forming an expanding lid, with drawstring closure, the black silk cord threaded on six carved green jade rings and ending in tassels.
IMG
![图片[1]-bag BM-2007-8006.11-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/Jades/mid_00553786_001.jpg)
![图片[2]-bag BM-2007-8006.11-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Unknown/Jades/mid_00553787_001.jpg)
Comments:The basketmaker Watanabe (born 1932) is a distinguished Japanese bamboo artist with a considerable reputation in Japan. His artist’s name, Chikusei, means ‘bamboo purity’. The gold lacquer is added by Noburo Itsuaki. The jade rings are carved by Lily Creation (Lily Wong) in Hong Kong and sent to Nakao-so Studio in Kyoto where the bags are assembled: the silk and carved stone elements are added. Elsa’s original collaborator in silk was Mitsuo Nakao; since his death his son continues to supply Tiffany with silk cord and the silk fabric for the handbags. Peretti wrote of the Japanese influence on her designs in 1990: ‘The impact I felt on my first trip to Japan in 1969 was the speed and technology of a train from Tokyo to Kyoto and the exquisite craftsmanship of the things I saw. Entering Tiffany in 1974, I became free to convert that feeling into reality. With Yasuyoshi Morimoto’s help and patience, like a capricious child I managed to persuade the best craftsmen to manufacture some of my forms. Behind them lie centuries of culture and a long process of loving production…….Delicately perfect bamboo baskets are the product of dexterous hands……I have a deep feeling for all of these artisans.’ (‘Fifteen of my Fifty with Tiffany & Co.’, exhibition catalogue, F.I.T., New York 1990). See also J. Rudoe, ‘Modern Response: Elsa Peretti’s designs for Tiffany’, British Museum Magazine, 63, Spring/Summer 2009, pp. 32-33. See also 2009.8033.19 for a spare bamboo basket base. For further information on Watanabe, see M. Butcher, ‘An introduction to basketry in Japan’ in “Baskets of the World: the social significance of plaited crafts’, Proceedings of the IVth International Congress of Ethnology (ICEB 2005), 2006, pp. 684-687 (available online at www.ortobotanico.unina.it/Museo/etnobotanico/catalogue_Color.pdf Watanabe directs the Beppu Bamboo Studio. For his work Watanabe selects tall straight reeds, grown locally, with long segments and smooth surface. First they are steamed, drained of oil, and left to dry. This process usually takes a month. Each reed is then pulled between two knives on a wood block to ensure uniform width. It is then made thinner and thinner by pulling a knife across its length, resting it on a cloth pad on the bamboo artist’s knee. The surface is polished to make it smooth before use. Watanabe never uses design drawings. He creates the design in his head while he weaves.
Materials:bamboo, gold, silk, jade, lacquer,
Technique:lacquered, plaited (basketry), carved,
Dimensions:Width: 140 millimetres
Description:
Bamboo basket bag, the woven basketwork lacquered in 24-carat gold, with a flat band around the rim. Black silk panels are attached to the top of basket forming an expanding lid, with drawstring closure, the black silk cord threaded on six carved green jade rings and ending in tassels.
IMG
Comments:The basketmaker Watanabe (born 1932) is a distinguished Japanese bamboo artist with a considerable reputation in Japan. His artist’s name, Chikusei, means ‘bamboo purity’. The gold lacquer is added by Noburo Itsuaki. The jade rings are carved by Lily Creation (Lily Wong) in Hong Kong and sent to Nakao-so Studio in Kyoto where the bags are assembled: the silk and carved stone elements are added. Elsa’s original collaborator in silk was Mitsuo Nakao; since his death his son continues to supply Tiffany with silk cord and the silk fabric for the handbags. Peretti wrote of the Japanese influence on her designs in 1990: ‘The impact I felt on my first trip to Japan in 1969 was the speed and technology of a train from Tokyo to Kyoto and the exquisite craftsmanship of the things I saw. Entering Tiffany in 1974, I became free to convert that feeling into reality. With Yasuyoshi Morimoto’s help and patience, like a capricious child I managed to persuade the best craftsmen to manufacture some of my forms. Behind them lie centuries of culture and a long process of loving production…….Delicately perfect bamboo baskets are the product of dexterous hands……I have a deep feeling for all of these artisans.’ (‘Fifteen of my Fifty with Tiffany & Co.’, exhibition catalogue, F.I.T., New York 1990). See also J. Rudoe, ‘Modern Response: Elsa Peretti’s designs for Tiffany’, British Museum Magazine, 63, Spring/Summer 2009, pp. 32-33. See also 2009.8033.19 for a spare bamboo basket base. For further information on Watanabe, see M. Butcher, ‘An introduction to basketry in Japan’ in “Baskets of the World: the social significance of plaited crafts’, Proceedings of the IVth International Congress of Ethnology (ICEB 2005), 2006, pp. 684-687 (available online at www.ortobotanico.unina.it/Museo/etnobotanico/catalogue_Color.pdf Watanabe directs the Beppu Bamboo Studio. For his work Watanabe selects tall straight reeds, grown locally, with long segments and smooth surface. First they are steamed, drained of oil, and left to dry. This process usually takes a month. Each reed is then pulled between two knives on a wood block to ensure uniform width. It is then made thinner and thinner by pulling a knife across its length, resting it on a cloth pad on the bamboo artist’s knee. The surface is polished to make it smooth before use. Watanabe never uses design drawings. He creates the design in his head while he weaves.
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