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.