SEN’YU: A WOVEN RATTAN KISERUZUTSU WITH A BAMBOO AND SILVER KISERUBy Sen’yu, signed Sen’yu 泉友 Japan, c. 1900, Meiji period (1868-1912)Of slender muso-zutsu form, the woven rattan ground finely decorated in gold and black takamaki-e as well as aogai inlays to depict edamame bean pods borne on twisting vines further issuing leaves. A looped himotoshi ringed in gilt metal below the mouth. Signed within an oval reserve SEN’YU. The kiseru (pipe) with a bamboo rao (tube) and plain silver suikuchi (mouthpiece) and karikubi (bowl). LENGTH 20.5 cm (the kiseruzutsu) and 18.7 cm (the kiseru)Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear. Provenance: From the collection of Felix Tikotin, and thence by descent within the family. Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) was an architect, art collector, and founder of the first Museum of Japanese Art in the Middle East. Born in Glogau, Germany, to a Jewish family, his ancestors had returned with Napoleon from Russia from a town named Tykocin. He grew up in Dresden and after World War I, he traveled to Japan and immediately fell in love with the culture. In April 1927, he opened his own first gallery in Berlin. The entire family survived the holocaust, and in the 1950s Tikotin slowly resumed his activities as a dealer in Japanese art. He became, once again, very successful and prominent, holding exhibitions all over Europe and the United States. When he first visited Israel in 1956, he decided that the major part of his collection belonged in that country. In 1960, the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art was opened in Haifa.