Catalog: Artists: Ceramics: Pottery (732)

A very rare boxed set of 3 cups by potters of several ancient kiln areas: Bizen by Kakurezaki Ryuichi, Hagi by Miwa Kazuhiko and Ki-Seto by Suzuki Goro. What great fun to break out this set on a night with friends, sharing tastes of various sake from the hands of some of Japans top potters in various traditions. Something not simply to be seen or collected, but used and experienced. It comes enclosed in the original wooden box signed by the artists...

Lavender clouds like rain threatening on a foggy landscape form on the surface of this cool White Hagi chawan by important artist Kaneta Masanao enclosed in the original signed wooden box The style is Kurinuki, not formed on a wheel but cut and worked from a block of clay, an approach the artist is famous for...

An unusual chawan draped with blue over leopard-skin like some Osaka Obachan on a Friday night romp by Takiguchi Kazuo enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The apple shaped form is pleasant on the hands, not heavy or unruly. A large drip had sagged off the side, affixing itself to the kiln floor, where it has been cut off. A bowl very much in this artists avant-garde spirit...

An Oribe vessel covered in pale earth-tones scribbled with nudes by Suzuki Goro enclosed in the original wooden box titled Yahichida Tsubo. A crow perches on the base like a signature cawing out GORO! Yahichida was a style of Oribe popular in the Momoyama and early Edo periods. That said it is likely that they did not decorate with such audacious flair back then...

This bowl is reminiscent of a colorfully striped Nishijin-ori Kimono, blue and green and yellow on a base color of hemp. The rim rises and falls in a rhythmic dance aong the broad shoulder. Created by modern master Ajiki Hiro, it comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shio-Yu Wan, Basara. Basara is a term in Japanese aesthetics associated with the challenge of traditional ideals during the Muromachi period...

Strikingly bold patterns revealed through curtains of copper green play across the surface of this dramatic work by Ikeda Shogo enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Sea Turtles, Castles, Cherry Blossoms and Lattice Bamboo Fences, a smorgasbord of Japanese iconography painted and carved into the gritty clay...

White slip lopes and wavers and splashes over this slightly trumpeting chawan by master of that genre Koie Ryoji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hikidashi no Chawan. Innovative as always, the application of glaze has been performed in several layers and styles, giving the bowl a unique appearance which sets it apart from others...

Hayashi Shotaro is one of Japan’s preeminent potters, and he has outdone himself again with this mouthwatering work decorated with a pagoda in dark iron silhouette against an iron red sky fading to darkness at the rim. It comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Manyou Yamato-ro Henko (Manyo is his signature glaze and Yamato-ro refers to imagery of old Japan). This piece was shown at his exhibition celebrating 45 years of potting, and is featured in the catalog image number 19...

This very liquid form seems already imbibed with rice wine, the base stable while the sides tilt slightly, sagging on the stool, a superb work by Abe Anjin. It comes wrapped with the original stamped wrapping cloth enclosed in the original wooden box titled Bizen Shuki and in turn enclosed in a black lacquered wooden box also stamped by the artist. Obviously, he felt this was deserved of greatness...

A charred Ash Glazed Hento by Kumano Kurouemon enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Echizen Ko-wakamaru Hento and signed To Kurouemon. Two slabs joined by a wide belt, one side slightly sagging like Hotei’s belly, lines scorring the sides. Glaze is crisp on the neck and one side, but grows quite liquid as it drips down the other...

Thick white vitrifies over bottomless black, creating a stark sense of drama on the torn form of this outstaniding work by world renowned potter Miwa Kazuhiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kakan (Floral Crown). It is quite tall, and with a single flower would be an excellent complement to the alcove of a modern Tea Room. The raw red clay is visible benath where the glaze has crawled away to allow a peek inside...

Black splashes over spattered white slip draw the eye into the window in the darkenss on the side of this exquisite chawan tea bowl by master fo that genre Koie Ryoji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled understatedly Chawan. The title is the only thing simple about this complex combination of contemporary clay, glaze, tradition, form, function, past and future. A simply stunning work by the master of tea bowls...

Here is a piece with attitude! A proud Iga vase with two “ears” like elbows on its hips by Kishimoto Kennin enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Hanaire Somimi. Interestingly he has written the last characters as one instead of two in the title. The style is taken from Momoyama era works, -tweaked a little with typical Kennin flare, and looks as if it just stepped from the kiln goin “What do you think?”
Size, W 14.5 cm (6 inches) H 25.5 cm (10.1/2inches)

A set of five Yunomi Tea cups showing off to a tee the many styles of Oribe for which Suzuki Goro is known. Narumi Oribe ,Yashichida Oribe ,Ao Oribe and everything in between with just as varied decorations. Each is uniquely engraved with the artist’s signature and they come enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Oribe Yunomi.
Size, W 5.5cm (2.1/2inches) H 7.9cm ( 4 inches)
Condition, Excellent
Suzuki Goro has a list of shows and prizes too lengthy to ...

A tall Sake bottle with handle deeply dragged and scratched by Yamada Kazu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Ao-Oribe Sake Tsugi. It struts forward at a jaunty gate, as if whistling a tune on a summer day in the park, oblivious to all. It is dressed from top to bottom in oribe green, the scarred body filling in the recesses forming dark pools and fractures.
Size, W 9.8cm (4 inches) H 18.3 cm (7 inches)
Condition, Excellent
Kazu was born in Tokoname c...

Thick ash covers the ovoid form of this exquisite Chaire by Tsujimura Kai enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Nostalgic with its glaze effects and form immersed in tradition, yet full of the world today, contemporary, breathing, alive. To one side a crescent moon shaped kutsuki forms a rakish grin, inviting the viewer to join in the merriment. It is a masterpiece by this young artist.
Size, W 7.1cm(3-1/4 inches) H 11.1cm (4-1/2 inches)
Condition, Excellent , encased i...

Here another igneous form by Fujioka Shuhei enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Igyo Tsubo (Iga disparately Shaped Tsubo). Like the previous Shigaraki work, this shows a state of nature, not a state of intent, as if the piece came to be. It is this sense of raw elementalism which puts Japanese pottery apart, and gives it its unique place of reverence in world ceramics. Fujioka himself states The spirit of Old Iga, its body born in these lands and the soul of which transcends...

Thick ash covers the squat form of this exquisite traditionally shaped tsubo by Sugimoto Sadamitsu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shigaraki Uzukumaru Tsubo and annotated by Tea Master Tachibana Daiki of Daitokuji Temple. One can easily see how a traditional Zen master would wish to associate his name with the work. Like the answer to a Zen Koan, the piece appears to have always been there. It is amorphic, clothed in such a thickness of ash and coal that it appears to have f...