Meiji Period Ohi Chawan with rare glaze

We continue our presentation of Ohi chawan (Ohi tea bowls) with yet another sublime vessel, a true eye-catcher made at the end of the Meiji Period around 1910. It's a unique Ohi Chawan which seems to be a kuro Raku bowl, but it isn't. With its sophisticated shape and its mesmerizing play of different colors of glaze it's outstanding.

The lightness of the clay, the soft silky textures of the glaze, and the mastery of form are all signatures of a kiln of excellence backed by generations of experience.

Ohi-ware has held a high place in the world of tea ceremony despite this tradition of pottery almost dying out on several occasions, and its indeed closely related to Raku; the first Ohi potter was the son of Raku III, Donyu, and apprenticed to the fourth Raku master, Ichinyu. In Kanbun 6 (1666), Lord Maeda established the kiln under the guidance of Urasenke tea master Sen Soshitsu in the hamlet of Ohi, Ishikawa Prefecture. The first Ohi potter took the name Chozaemon.

In excellent condition, this piece is 8,5 cm inches in diameter and stands 7,5 cm high. It comes with its original wood box bearing the Ōhi seal.