Catalog (794)

Reminiscent of an excavated Haniwa figure of a house, this museum quality vase is by Koinuma Michio and comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled very simply Tsubo. It is an iconic work by this eclectic artist, whose work is entirely unique and easily discernible. It is 27.5 cm (11 inches) square, 37 cm (14-3/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. Due to size this will require special shipping consideration.
Koinuma Michio is a compelling figure unique among contempora...

A breathtaking sculpture by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The inverted cone is dark gray with rust red and blue patterns waving across the surface like gas clouds on some distant moon. It is 46 cm (18 inches) tall, 19 cm (7-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition, directly from the artist this winter. The wooden box is titled: Untitled. In fact he does not title any of his work now, preferring to leave interpretation up to the viewer. After hand forming...

A quintessential large basin titled Kai no Hachi (Shell Bowl) by legendary female artist Koike Shoko enclosed in the original signed wooden box complete with Shiori and Shifuku wrapping cloth. It is covered in pale white glaze with highlights in gray and silver, and just a few touches of iron. The sculpted dish measures roughly 41 cm (16 inches) diameter, 19 cm (7-1/2 inches) at the highest point, and is in excellent condition.
Due to size and fragility, the cost of shipping will be acc...

An ovaloid hemisphere in deep rust colors by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled, like all his work, “Untitled”. It is 26 cm diameter, 27 cm tall and in perfect condition, directly from the artist this winter. After forming and sculpting the shapes, they are bisque fired, then glazed and fired again at a relatively low temperature (Between 1000 and 1100 degrees, like Raku ware). Then he builds a brick oven around each piece and brings the temperature up to 50...

It is 60 x 37 x 15.5 cm (23-1/2 x 14-1/2 x 6 inches). A split in the form drooping on one end creates a sense of instability and impermanence, creating a personal tension between viewer and viewed. It is signed R. Kiyomizu, dating it post 2000. Although the first heads of the Kiyomizu family concentrated on traditional, popular objects and designs, Rokubei VII and VIII "took a radical turn" to produce abstract, geometric three-dimensional pieces which are either purely decorative, or combine ...

A large celadon bowl by highly sought artist Fukami Sueharu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled humorously “8” (Hachi in Japanese, the number a homonym for the word bowl). The bowl flares from a small base creating a dramatic silhouette, as if it is about to soar. About the small foot ring the glaze bunches like drapery. This sense of lightness is a fixture of the artists work, and he is well known for his wing like sculptures. It is 21.5 cm (8-1/2 inches) diameter and in exc...

A specter of black haunts the pure form of this superb vessel by Kondo Yutaka enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Suminagashi Kabin (Vase with poured ink pattern). This alone in the alcove, with the morning light filtering throgh the paper doors across the surface, stops me in my tracks. It is 27 cm (10-3/4 inches) tall, roughly the same diameter and in excellent condition. This is in the style of work he was producing in the mid to late '60s, when he was granted the most import...

Gold nuggets gleam on the deep lavender and black surface of this natural-formation by Inayoshi Osamu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kurinuki Kinsai Kaki. Kinsai is literally gold color, and here the artist has embedded gold into the surface, allowing it to expand and bubble out in the heat of the firing process. The effect of this on the dark matt surface is both striking and original. Kurinuki is the technique of digging a form out of a block of clay. It is 18-1/2 inches...

An open coffer in Gosu Blue and Iron glaze by Kanjiro Kawai enclosed in an old kiri-wood box titled Kanjiro-Saku, Gosu Koro and signed by his wife Tsune. It is 11.6 cm (4-1/2 inches) square, 8.2 cm (3 inches) tall and is in fine condition. A streak of sharp white glaze has dripped into one corner before or during the firing. For similar examples see the Katsukawa collection published in the biblical tome by the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art.
Kawai Kanjiro was a true artist by natu...

An extraordinary and monumental glass platter by Nakashima Yasushi exhibited at the 18th Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition in 1989, enclosed in the original signed and dated wooden box titled Kurogyoku Moyo Garasu O-zara (Black Jade Style Glass Platter). It is 21 inches (53 cm) diameter, 3-1/2 inches (9 cm) tall. In excellent condition. Due to size the cost of shipping will be accrued separately.
Nakashima Yasushi (1938-2017) was born in Hyogo prefecture and gr...

A book for the blind written in braille soaked in clay and burnt into a fluffy mass by Nishimura Yohei enclosed in a Perspex case and made to be hung on the wall. The fragile cover has been partially torn away, revealing the inside like some secret treasure of hidden knowledge. What does he wish to tell us through these shattered pages? Nishimura uses his kiln to remove objects such as books from the time stream by carbonizing the object, he leaves us with the concept of the object he started...

A fabulous Bizen tea set by important 20th century artist Yamamoto Toshu enclosed in the original signed and compartmentalized wooden box. The austerity of Bizen, said to be closest of all potteries to the Japanese heart, is legendary. This is a masterpiece by one of the greatest artists to revive the tradition after the devastation and neglect of the industrial revolution in Japan. The coloring is simply the work of flame against the raw clay. Although one may attempt control, this is cause...

A fabulous Bizen tea set by important 20th century artist Yamamoto Toshu enclosed in the original signed and compartmentalized wooden box. The austerity of Bizen, said to be closest of all potteries to the Japanese heart, is legendary. This is a masterpiece by one of the greatest artists to revive the tradition after the devastation and neglect of the industrial revolution in Japan. The coloring is simply the work of flame against the raw clay. Although one may attempt control, this is cause...

Zen imagery of the in iron of the motif Triangle, circle and square decorate the frothy white glaze on this Shino Chawan by important artist Wakao Toshisada enclosed in the original signed wooden box. A superb example of his tea bowls, it is 12.5 cm (5 inches) diameter,9.5 cm (4 inches) tall and in excellent condition. The tri-part symbol is famous from the Sengai Gibon Zen scroll of the 18th century. DT Suzuki in his interpretation of Sengai says: Sengai was familiar with Shingon, the mantra...

This burnished finish is one of the signature effects of Living National Treasure Yamamoto Toshu seen on this fluted gourd enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen-yaki Hyotan Hanaike. Here the blue-gray clay is covered in charred red mottles, like the natural patterns on a dried gourd, the smooth sangiri surface intentionally marred with occasional rough patches. A masterpiece and true evidence of the mastery of Toshu, one of the greatest artists to revive the tradition after t...

An elegant form in rich color by Living National Treasure Tokuda Masahiko (Yasokichi III) enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 26 cm (10-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Tokuda Masahiko (1933- 2009, Yasokichi III) was designated Living National Treasure in 1997 for his supremacy in the use of Sai-yu Kutani glazes. Yasokichi, born Masahiko, went a step further than many National Treasures by broadening his spectrum with a new style of Kutani ware. Masahiko graduat...

Hand prints on the rim reverberate like echoes of the potter on this very large basin in Kuma-Shino Glaze by reclusive potter Kumano Kurouemon (also Kuroemon) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shiro Mori-bachi (White Oversized-Bowl). Deep pits and crawling in the thick glaze are trademarks of this potters work. This piece has the added feature of much revealed clay, like snow receding from stone, a site this potter is very familiar with deep in the forested hills of Echizen. I...

A beautiful open form of pale clay dashed with scarlet Hidasuki lines by Koyama Suehiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is quite large at 37 cm (14-1/2 inches) tall and is in excellent condition. Hidasuki is a distinctly Bizen technique wherein straw is placed on the piece before firing, causing a chemical reaction with the composition of the clay, heat and straw, which leaves these dark lines after the chaff has burned away.
Koyama Suehiro was born the third son of tradi...