Catalog: Vintage Arts: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese (74)

A stunning silver glazed Tokkuri by artist Kozuru Gen (b. 1938) in the original signed kiri wood box. The vase is completely covered in silver or platinum glaze with sansai like yellow and green in spontaneous crystalline dabs set in extra drippings of thick silver about the circumference. Countering this strength of character is faded orange, adding a subtle suggestion inside the mouth of the bulbous Tokkuri form. The vase, which dates circa 1980, is 7 inches (18 cm) tall. Gen has operated a kiln in both Fukuoka Japan as well as in Topsfield Massachusetts, and has participated in too many national and international exhibitions to mention. His work is held in the permanent collection of the Kyoto Museum of Modern Art among others.

An unusually large Tetsu-mon Vase by Ningen Kokuho Shimizu Uichi over 13 inches (33 cm) tall enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Dispersed over the pin-holed white glaze are diametrically opposed red and black iron dashes of color. A vase with huge presence. Shimizu Uichi (1926-2004) was born in Kyoto the son of a ceramic dealer. Discarding the family business he apprenticed in plastic arts under Ishiguro Munemaro. His work retains some principal elements of his teachers style while incorporating an understated elegance and avant-garde spirit of challenge uncommon for his time. He was first exhibited at the Nitten in 1951, receiving numerous awards there since. He also took the gold medal at the Prague International Exhibition, and was at the Brussels World Exposition. He is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto Museum of Modern art and the Freer Gallery among others.