Catalog (801)

Gosu pink and blue cover the domed-lid of this iconic iron bound rectangular box by Kawai Kanjiro enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shinsha Kusabana Hako (Box of floral design with Red Copper Glaze). It is 16 x 22 x 14 cm (6-1/4 x 8-3/4 x 5-1/2 inches) and in excellent condition.
Kawai Kanjiro was a true artist by nature, and together with Hamada Shoji, set a pattern of study for modern potters. After graduating the Tokyo School of Industrial Design, he came to study in K...

Layers of color in an amorphic form like a jellyfish (or perhaps when smoiking like an underwater volcano) by Miyashita Zenji enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Deisai Koki, Umi no Ho　（Colored Clay Incense Vessel, Musical Score of the Sea）．It is 21 x 19 x 10 cm (8 x 7-1/2 x 4 inches) and is in excellent condition. An annotation in the box mentions that the piece was exhibited at Takashimaya In Kyoto, March of 1993.
Miyashita Zenji (1939-2012) was born into the fami...

A very unusual spiraling form studded with long spikes like the branches of the Japanese Natsu-mikan tree in pastel colors by Sugiura Yasuyoshi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Sora ni Kataru Tsubo (Vessel Speaking to the Sky). Despite the unusual shape, it makes an excelent instrument for a single flower (Ichirin) display. It is 27 cm wie, 32 cm tall (10-1/2 x 12-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition. Work by this artist is very difficult to acquire and I am very happy t...

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...

A split top creates a dramatic vision in this futuristic work by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 42 cm (16-1/2 inches) diameter and in perfect condition, directly from the artist this year. 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 500 degrees, and adds...

Striated textures and swift blown ash combine with highly unique colorful kiln effects on this tea bowl by Living National Treasures Isezaki Jun enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Hikidashi Chawan. Albeit beautiful, this piece must be held truly grasp the genius of the artist. The texture awakens the senses while the mottling of colors makes for a visual feast from any angle. It is 12 cm (5 inches) diameter, 9 cm (3-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Iseza...

A Red Shino Chawan by Tsukigata Nahiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Aka (ne) Shino Chawan and named in side after a mountain (I cannot read the name, Big-Something-Mountain). It is 5-1/2 inches (14 cm) diameter, 3-1/2 inches (9 cm) tall and in excellent condition complete with silk pouch and double wood black lacquered outer box.
Tsukigata Nahiko (1923-2006) was not only an accomplished ceramic artist, but also a painter, calligrapher, sculptor and musician. Born in...

Tarnished platinum glows dully inside this hollowed bowl scooped out of raw clay by Ogawa Machiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Wan. It is 14 cm (5-1/2 inches) diameter, 7 cm (3 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Ogawa Machiko was born in Sapporo on the Northern Island of Hokkaido in 1946. She studied under future Living National Treasures Fujimoto Yoshimichi, Tamura Koichi and Kato Hajime at the Tokyo University of Arts, graduating in 1969, then went on...

A bisected orb in deep rust colors by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled, like all his work, “Untitled”. The coloration is random, like gass clouds deep in space. It is 25.5 cm (10 inches) diameter, roughly 12.5 cm (5 inches) tall, and in perfect condition, directly from the artist.
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)....

A superb example of this traditional shape by Living National Treasure Isezaki Jun enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Bizen Mizusashi. Glaze seems to be worn and deteriorated from centuries of use on the dark earthen surface. It is 18.5 cm (7-1/2 inches) Diameter, 19 cm (7-5/8 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Isezaki Jun was born the second son to the prominent Bizen family of Isezaki Yozan. With his older brother Mitsuru he studied the plastic arts under the fierce...

A cone rises to a plateau in deep rust colors by Hashimoto Tomonari enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled, like all his work, “Untitled”. It is 25.5 cm (10 inches) tall, roughly the same diameter and in perfect condition, directly from the artist this pasat 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 ...

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 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 most unusual tea bowl charred black on one side which emenates a golden glow on the raw earth opposite, by Bizen living national Treasure Yamamoto Toshu enclosed in the original signed double wood storage box titled Bizen Yohen Chawan (Kiln Altered Tea bowl) with silk wrapping cloth. The beauty of kiln altered works is that they are quite often entirely unique. Something unexpected that occurred inside the kiln during the firing or cooling process, that caused a deviation from the norm or ex...

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...