184. KATŌ Jūemon,1894-1974, red Oribe kutsugata (clog-shaped) chawan

184. KATŌ Jūemon  加藤十右衛門,1894-1974, aka Oribe kutsu cha kata 赤織部沓茶況  (red Oribe clog-shaped teabowl)

Katō was most closely identified as a potter with Mino-ware, but he also pursued other traditional styles such as Iga, kuro Oribe (black Oribe), and ki Seto (yellow Seto), leaving behind many masterpieces, particularly teacups and mizusashi (traditional water containers). His eldest son Hoemon, second son Koemon and third son Yaemon, all inherited his business and learned their craft from him. He was born in Kasahara-cho, Toki-gun (currently Tajimi City), Gifu Prefecture.

Supplied with a stamped cloth and original box signed by Sen Sōshitsu XV 十五代千宗室,  fifteenth grand master (Iemoto) of Urasenke Tea School (b. 1923; served as grand master from 1964 to 2022).

This was made in the Narumi-style of red Oribe (see item no. 217 for an explanation).

Light red and white clays. Glazed with Oribe green, cream, red, and brown glazes; foot ring and most of the angled area above the foot ring left unglazed. Weight: 388 g (14 oz). Width at rim: 10.2 x 14 cm (4 x 5-1/2 in). Height: 6 cm (2-3/8 in).

This sits on the foot ring, which is a rough circle, approximately 5.6 cm (2-1/4 in) in diameter and 1 cm (3/8 in) high. The interior has been hollowed out to about two-thirds of this distance. Above the foot, the walls slant outward in a straight line at about a 30-degree angle to a height of 1.3 cm (1/2 in). This area is a rough oval. The artist’s mark, the character for “ten” 十, was impressed into this area just above the foot ring (see the third picture from the bottom). Above this the walls rise upward in roughly a straight vertical line. Just above the break between the angled portion and the straight sides, there is concave crease around the entire circumference of the bowl. About 1.3 cm (1/2 in) down from the rim is another crease in the exterior walls around the entire circumference. The rim is a rough triangle with rounded joints where the sides of the triangle meet. The interior of the bowl follows the shape of the exterior, but the walls were smoothed out.  Both the glazed and unglazed portions of this are quite smooth.  There are a few hairline cracks in the unglazed portion of the exterior (also visible in the third picture from the bottom).

The glazes used here are typical of Oribe but with more red in the mix than on much Oribe ware. On one side, the glazes have absorbed carbon, and the red glaze has turned gray and the green glaze looks bluish. This may have been the side of the pot facing the flow of heat and soot in the kiln (see the sixth and seventh pictures). Most of the underside was left unglazed; there is a line of red glaze along one side, and a teardrop of green glaze formed on the opposite side. The sides are decorated with cream shapes outlined in brown. The interior has a group of similarly drawn squares as well as an arrow made with the brown glaze. The rim was dipped in the green glaze, which was maneuvered to form several teardrops on both the exterior and interior walls.

The side of the box (next-to-last picture) is inscribed (in three lines, from right to left:  赤織部  (red Oribe); 沓茶況 (clog-shaped tea[bowl]) (the actual last character is a variant of the one shown here); and  十右衛門造  (made by [Katō] Jūemon)

On the underside of the lid (last picture) are the characters (in three lines): 織部  (Oribe); 茶碗 (chawan); and a third line I can’t decipher, but which is undoubtedly Sen’s signature.  The final character may be his kaō 花押 sigil (stylized form of signature used by tea practitioners.)

A very special teabowl.

Purchased from Treasures of Old Times in Bangkok in 2022 (invoice).

183. NAKAMURA Dōnen III.1938-88, red raku-style chawan

183. NAKAMURA Dōnen III  三代 中村道年.1938-88, red raku-style chawan

Nakamura was based in Nagoya. He was the third generation of his family to use this name. His given name was Ryūtarō. His family specialized in the Koetsu-style of raku.

Sandy red clay, with red slip and clear glaze; gray and black colors from wood-firing; ring foot and parts of the lower walls left unglazed.  Weight: 358 g (13 oz). Width at rim (also maximum diameter): 11.3 cm (4-1/2 in). Height 8.3 cm (3-1/4 in).

This sits on the foot ring, which is 5.4 cm (2-1/8 in) in diameter and about 0.8 cm (5/16 in) high on the outer edge. The interior of the foot ring was hollowed out to about two thirds of this distance. The upper half of the exterior of the foot ring was carved away in a shallow concave arc. The base of the foot ring is quite wide for a chawan, and the interior is a ridged spiral. The forming of the foot ring appears to have been done on a wheel. Above the foot ring, the walls move outward in a straight line at about a 30-degree angle, to a height of 2.5 cm (1 in). Within this area, in an unglazed portion between the foot ring and the break in the walls, the artist’s seal, a circle the size of a dime with the characters for “Dōnen” inscribed in standard characters. From the break, the walls rise upward in more or less a straight line to the rim. In the center of this area, the walls bow inward slightly in a shallow concave arc, providing a place to hold the bowl securely. The interior of the bowl mirrors the exterior. The glazed portions of this are smooth; the unglazed portions have the roughness of medium-grain sandpaper.

According to explanations given online, the “Koetsu” style of raku firing involves coating the piece in a red slip. During the firing, the areas covered by the slip absorb soot and ash from the wood-firing and acquire a sheen. The colors on the area covered by the slip here are variously colored white, gray, and black with many areas of red. The foot ring and portions of the bowl in the angled area were left uncovered by the slip, and the red clay shows through.

This follows one of the standard forms for a chawan, without innovations. But it is a good example of this form, and the coloring is excellent.

Purchased from Treasures of Old Times in Bangkok, 2022.

 

182. YANO Keisen (Kakegawa), 1870­-1965, Shino-glazed chawan

182. YANO Keisen (Kakegawa), 1870­-1965, Shino-glazed chawan

Yano was born in Kozoji-cho, Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture.  At the age of 22, he was adopted by the Yano family in Seto City. While serving at the Hatayama Village Office, he began making handmade Shino bowls. In 1952, he was given the Keisen name by Abbot Sen of the Eihei-ji, one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism.

Gray clay, white Shino glaze, foot ring and area above it unglazed. Weight: 182 g (6.5 oz). Width of rim (maximum width): 10.7-11.3 cm (4-1/4 - 4-1/2 in).  Height: 3.7-4.4 cm (1-1/2 - 1-3/4 in).

This was formed by hand. It sits on the foot ring, which is a rough circle some 5.1 cm (2 in) in diameter and 0.5 cm (3/16 in) high on the outside. The inside of the foot ring was hollowed out to about half this height. The artist’s mark, a small, oval cartouche with what appear to be the characters for Yano in seal script, was impressed into the wall of the bowl just above the foot ring (visible in the last picture just above the rightmost loop of the black design). The walls, which are thick for such a small bowl, rise in a convex arc from the foot ring to the rim. The walls and the rim are very bumpy and irregular.

With the exception of the foot ring and the area above it, this was glazed in Shino and fired at a temperature that left it crackled but with none of the red tints or carbon capture that can result with this glaze. The front of the bowl has a looped, almost calligraphic design in black.

This was labeled a “chawan” by the seller, but it’s small for a teabowl. A very simple and “rustic” design.

Purchased from Treasures of Old Times in Bangkok in 2022.

 

181. Red raku-style hira chawan (low, flat teabowl)

181. Red raku-style hira chawan 平茶碗  (low, flat teabowl)

Red clay; spots of white with colors from wood-firing. Weight: 176 g (6 oz). Width of rim (maximum width): 11.3 cm (4-1/2 in). Height: 4.4 cm (1-3/4 in).

This is classified as a hira chawan 平茶碗 or flat teabowl.

It sits on the foot ring. The foot ring is a rough circle 5.7 cm (2-1/4 in) in diameter and 0.5 cm (3/16 in) high. The interior of the foot ring shows a spiral cut mark; the center is only slightly lower than the walls of the foot ring. Above the foot, the walls extended outward at a low angle in a slightly convex line to the maximum diameter, about 1.2 cm (1/2 in) above the base. In this portion of the bowl, there are several gouges from the shaping tool. From the break the walls rise vertically to the rim. The central portion of this space has been curved inward to form a concave groove around the circumference, forming a place to hold the cup. Below and above this groove the walls are slightly convex. To either side of the group of white spots on the “front” of the bowl, a series of six (to the left) and eight (to the right) lines slanting from left to right were cut into the walls of the bowl.  On the exterior wall opposite the group of white spots, there is a large dent, perhaps a remnant of the tongs used to remove the pot from the kiln while it was still hot. The surface of this combines smoothness and texture—smooth where the ash glazing left a glossy surface and rough where the walls were cut.

This was fired using a raku-style process, leaving a glossy sheen on all surfaces of the pot. There are eight white splotches on the exterior wall of the bowl. Carbon capture darkened one area on the exterior. The clay also appears to have contained enough iron that the surface is spotted with black dots.

The bowl came wrapped in a tattered silk scarf inside an old wooden box. The exterior of the box was reinforced as some point by gluing paper around the sides. The paper had been used as writing paper, which was pasted with the written side down when it was glued to the box. The paper has now worn away and the characters (in mirror images) are now visible. I haven’t been able to decipher them.

The characters on the lid of the box are (in four lines) 越中 (Etchū); 埴生焼 (Hanisei(?)-ware); 茶碗 X (Teabowl X); and X X. (The characters indicated here by an “X” are too cursive for my reading abilities to decipher.)

On the inside of the lid are the characters (in six lines): 此茶碗(ハ); 越中國(ノ); 礪波郡; 埴生村(ニ); 焼キX(シ)物; 也

Oddly this is mostly classical Chinese, with some Japanese pointing (the katakana in parentheses above). It translates as “This teabowl is an object fired in Hanisei Village, Tonami District, Etchū Province”.  Etchū Province is modern Toyama Prefecture; the province officially ended in 1871, although apparently the name was still used a geographic designation for many years thereafter. Tonami is now a city of about 50,000 people. I do not know the pronunciation of the village name. Given the area, there could well be a local dialect in which the name would have a unique pronunciation. The name literally means “the village born of clay”—so it may be a descriptive rather than an actual name. In traditional times, the area was a major ceramics center, but less so now. So a bit of a mystery here.

The seller listed this as “red raku,” and since he knows much more about Japanese pottery than I do, I accept his characterization. Whatever it is and whatever its provenance, it is a great piece. It’s well-balanced and a pleasure to hold.

Purchased from Treasures of Old Times in Bangkok in 2021.

180. Christopher Wilder, wood-fired wall sculpture, “Hull,” 2021

180. Christopher Wilder, wood-fired wall sculpture, “Hull,” 2021

Dark red clay, no glazing, colors from wood firing. Weight: 3.19 kg (7.1 lb). Width: 22 cm (8-5/8 in). Height: 38 cm (15 in).

This consists of three pieces. A roughly rectangular piece 34.2 cm (13-1/2 in) long by 17.6 cm (7 in) wide by 1.6 cm (5/8 in) thick. This piece, viewed from the front is a shallow concave slab with all sides higher and bowing inward toward the middle. The top is more bowed than the bottom, which is flatter and only slightly curved. Attached to the top of this piece is a smaller slab, 15 cm (6 in) high by 20.2 cm (8 in) wide by 1.3 cm (1/2 in) thick. This piece forms about the top third of the sculpture and sticks out above the bottom slab by 3.8 cm (1-1/2 in). It, too, is concave and bends outward toward the viewer in a sharp curve. At the back of the piece 21.5 cm (8-1/2 in) above the base is a rectangular bar 22.6 cm (9 in) long, 4.4 cm (1-3/4 in) wide, and 2.5 cm (1 in) thick. A hook was embedded in the center of this bar to serve as the hanging point. The front surface is scarred with horizontal and vertical lines. The surface is rough and jagged.

This was wood-fired. The colors—black, dark brown, grayish white—resulted from the firing and the ash deposits on the surface.

This is an imposing piece. It looks almost mask-like.

Purchased from Wilder in February 2022.

179. Blackware vase, Mexico, ca. 2007

179. Blackware vase, Mexico, ca. 2007

This was given to me as a thank-you gift for catsitting by a friend visiting Mexico. She said that she had taken a tour bus to a village that produces this type of pottery and bought it there.

Black clay, unglazed. Weight: 588 g (1.3 lb). Width: 9.8 cm (3-7/8 in). Height: 16.7 cm (6-1/2 in).

This sits on the flat base. The walls rise in a straight line to the rim. A jagged vertical pattern has been cut into the exterior walls. There are eight of these lines. In this type of ware, the exterior surface is burnished with a stone to make it smooth.

This is unglazed. The exterior sheen is due to the burnishing.

A simply but very pleasing pot.

Received as a gift, 2007.

 

178. Andrew Mazzaschi, eight wall hangings, 2022

178. Andrew Mazzaschi, eight wall hangings, 2022

For Mazzaschi, see item 126.

These are all irregularly shaped small pieces. The front of each is roughly convex, with the grooved and glazed surfaces this potter favors. Many of them have bumps. The backs are concave. A rectangular bar was attached to the back side of each, with two holes for attaching a hanging wire. The artist’s stamp, a square box with his initials, AHSM, was impressed into the back of each.

There is no set arrangement for displaying these pieces. The one pictured is just what I happened to hit upon. They could be displayed singly or in groups. Each piece could be hung in the opposite direction. The possibilities for display are limitless, which is part of the attraction.

Purchased from Mazzaschi in February 2022.

A. Red clay. Glazed in white, with the red clay showing through at the stress points. Weight: 76 g (2.7 oz). Dimensions: 10.7 x 6.3 x 2.3 cm (4-1/4 x 2-1/2 x 7/8 in).

B. Black clay. Glazed in a dark Tenmoku, with white and gold highlights. Weight: 70 g (2.5 oz). Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.7 x 1.7 cm (3-1/4 x 2-5/8 x 5/8 in).

C. Red clay. Glazed in a dark Tenmoku with white highlights. Weight: 70 g (2.5 oz). 10.2 x 7.6 x 2 cm (4 x 3 x 3/4 in).

 

D. Red clay. Glazed in a dark Tenmoku with white and blue highlights. Weight: 68 g (2.5 oz). Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1.6 cm (3-1/2 x 2-1/2 x 1/2 in).

[Cont. in next entry}