Featured Need Help w/Identifying 16" Ornately Carved Wood Bowl

hi everyone. i just found this yesterday. i think it's amazing. it's very asymmetrical and rich looking with all of the varied elements. it also has a finely carved feel to it with the walls being quite thin. i'm trying to figure out what the origin of this piece is. it looks like something from the arts and crafts period with the little frog and the crab. my personal guess is Japanese or Chinese, but i can't be certain. also, any ideas as to the type of wood used would be great too. it's completely unmarked. as you might notice in the pics, there are a couple of spots of minor damage. they could be made to look less noticeable but i wouldn't do anything to it myself. i hope this is a good forum category to list this under, any help will be greatly appreciated...thanks

 

Looks Japanese and carved from a burr/burl.

 

nice bowl..... handle and base sure look like scorpion tails..

 

All I know is that I love it.

 

thank you both. i hadn't placed the handle and base and that does look like what they are. as far as the Japanese id, i can't find anything similar to it. i've found one meiji carved bowl, but as with all others it's round. i guess this might best be described as a carved basket? there are a couple of things similar on google images with that description, but nothing really close.

 

Well that is just a fantastically fun piece! I never get to find things like that!

 

Beautiful piece. I wonder if it is an artistic take on a garden basket.

 

Odd mix if it is, it’s got water lilies and crabs! As well as I think a water beetle and fungi.

 

Id have jumped on it too. Its beautifully done.

 

The general wildlife and plants found on a lot of Chinese and Japanese items. There is rarely a relationship between the purpose of the item and its decoration.

 

Lovely bowl!

 

hi, thank you all for your input. this was found in a Goodwill...very lucky find for this day and age. it does show that there's still good stuff out there to be found, though. with regards to what it is, based on similar items i'm seeing online, i guess it would be best described as a Meiji carved burl Ikebana basket. also, i don't see a water beetle anywhere. i think those little protuberances by the crab are clams. the creature coming out of the flower is a frog.

 

Ikebana is possible....but flower arranging in that open bowl.....??

 

that's what others online with similar pieces are describing them as. i could see this basket as a centerpiece on, for instance a dining room table with flowers. it's sort of shaped like a cornucopia. this is definitely something i'm going to try to sell and i want to have the most accurate description i can come up with. i've had other pieces from the Meiji period with water lilies so i know that's a common decoration on things from that period. i would still love for someone to come up with a definitive answer to what it is. this is a unique item.

 

It's really lovely, and so unusual.