188. Karatsu sherds

188. Karatsu sherds

Twelve sherds from the Karatsu kilns (唐津焼, Karatsuyaki) in western Kyushu.  According to the seller, these came from a rubbish dump near a kiln that flourished in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Three of the identifiable pieces are spouts from katakuchi, two are portions of a small teacup; three appear to be from the same flattish dish with curved sides; and the rest are portions of bowls of some sort.

Purchased in April 2022 from Art and Antique 28, Gifu City, Japan.

 

187. Jōmon sherds

187. Jōmon sherds

 

Jōmon pottery (縄文土器, Jōmon doki) is a type of ancient earthenware pottery made during the Jōmon period in Japan. The term "Jōmon" (縄文) means “rope-patterned” and describes patterns often pressed into the clay. Jōmon wares date from 10,500­-300 BCE, although pottery fragments from an earlier period that may also be Jōmon wares have been found.

The seller had no information on these particular sherds but thought they came from “northern Japan.”

The clay contains minute sparkling fragments, perhaps mica or quartz. Each piece is about 0.7 cm (1/4 in) thick.

a. Red clay; the interior and much of the exterior are blackened, either from soot or dirt. Weight: 122 g (4.4 oz). Dimensions: 9.5 x 13.3 (3-3/4 x 5-1/4 in).  The top left shoulder and the center of the top are the original rim on the pot; all the other edges are broken.  The vertical squiggles and the horizontal bands were coils of clay attached to the main body. The other decorations were incised or pressed into the clay.

b. Brown clay, with much blackening from soot or dirt. Weight: 18 g (0.6 oz). Dimensions: 8.7 x 4.5 cm (3-1/2 x 1-3/4 in). All the edges are broken. The central band was formed from a coil of clay attached to the main body. The other decorations were pressed into the clay.

c. Tan clay, with much blackening from soot or dirt. Weight: 160 g (5.7 oz). Dimensions: 10.2 x 11.3 cm (4 x 4-1/2 in). The upper edge is part of the original rim; all other edges are broken. The handle(?—perhaps an arm of a figure?), was formed from a separate strip of clay and attached to the main body. There is no open space under the handle; there is plug of clay on the inside of the handle closing what would normally be an opening). All the decorations were incised into the clay.

d. Gray clay, with reddish colors on the exterior; the interior is blackened. Weight: 86 g (3 oz). Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.9 cm (3-1/4 x 3-1/8 in). The upper edge is part of the original rim; all other edges are broken. The decorations were incised into the surface.

e. Tan clay. Weight: 160 g (5.7 oz). Dimensions: 12.7 x 11.7 cm (5 x 4-5/8 in).  The upper edge is part of the original rim; all other edges are broken. The design at the center top was from coils of clay attached to the body of the pot. All the other decorations were incised into the clay.

Purchased in April 2022 from Art and Antique 28, Gifu City, Japan.

 

186. Andrew Sartorius, “Firebox Sculpture 6”

186. Andrew Sartorius, “Firebox Sculpture 6”

For Sartorius, see item 143.

Wild clay harvested in North Carolina, with a slip of wild New York clay. Weight: 1168 g (2.6 lb). Dimensions: 20 x 11.5 x 8.8 cm (8 x 4.5 x 3.5 in).

This sits on the flat edges of the bottom. The bottom is a rough rectangle with a deep concave arch in the center. The artist’s mark, a small circle with his initials inside it, was pressed into the base. The two pieces that form the sides are shallow convex arcs that meet at a sharp seam in the middle. Each side has a circular opening in it. The openings are surrounded by a narrow rim. The surface is pitted and rough.

This is unglazed. After it was formed, it was coated with a slip. It was wood-fired for four days in the lower front area of an anagama kiln, in a “fairly heavily reduced” atmosphere. The colors, which range from an ashy gray through reds to browns and blacks, result from the wood-firing and the natural ash deposits.

Like the other items in this series, this exploits the interactions among, shape, clay/slip, and the firing process.

Purchased from the artist in April 2022.

 

185. Andrew Sartorius, “Firebox Sculpture 7”

185. Andrew Sartorius, “Firebox Sculpture 7”

For Sartorius, see item 143.

From the artist: “This series of sculptural vessels explores shape and form allowing each sculpture to emerge through my coiling and carving process of hand building. The sculptures reveal themselves to me in shifting form and merging and meeting lines that lend themselves to focusing on kiln placement and the interaction between clay choice and kiln effect.”

Dark clay from West Virginia (in the other two pieces by this artist that I own, the clay was harvested on his grandparents’ farm in West Virginia—this appears to be the same clay.). Weight: 1842 g (4.1 lb). Width: 15.2 x 16.4 cm (6 x 6.5 in). Height: 14.5 cm (5-3/4 in).

This sits on a flat base. roughly an oval 9.5 x 7 cm (3-3/4 x 2.3/4 in). The base is slightly concave. The central portion of the body is generally circular. The two “sides” are concave circles. The circular opening in the top is about 3.2 cm (1-1/4 in) in diameter. The shape of the interior more or less follows that of the exterior. The surface is pitted but not particularly rough, except on the smaller concave side, whose surface is much rougher than the other areas of the piece.

This appears to have a lining glaze on the interior. The exterior has a natural glaze from the wood-firing, with colors ranging from black to gray to a rusty red. The piece was fired in the lower front of a train kiln for two days and was coated with fine ash particles to create a unique layer of ash effects on the exterior.

A great piece, exploiting the potentials of clay and wood-firing. It gives a strong feeling of being a part of a larger structure, a machine perhaps. The surfaces flow naturally into each other.

Purchased from the artist in March 2022.