251. ATARASHI Manabu, 1973- , Iga-ware hanging vase

251.  ATARASHI Manabu 新学, 1973-  , Iga kakehanaire  伊賀掛花入  (Iga-ware hanging vase)

 

For Atarashi, see item no. 222.  To quote Robert Mangold, the owner of the gallery that sold this piece, “Intensely fired multiple times to achieve the bidoro glass puddles and landscape effects which define his aesthetic, the geometric works add a contemporary sensibility to the traditional Iga style and transcend the realm of utilitarian crafts breaking into the sculptural domain. His work has proven innovative and challenging to the norm, taking his father’s tradition into the 21st century." 

Light gray clay, with many very small feldspar pebbles. Fired unglazed. Surface colors and effects in the gray to black range, with patches of dark reddish brown hi-iro 火色. A few spots of vitrified ash glaze. Weight: 1260 g (2.8 lb). Height: 36.5 cm (14-1/4 in). Width: 12.5 cm (4-7/8 in). 

This is roughly triangular in cross-section. The back is flatter in the center and nearer the top, with the edges curving to meet the side seams. The front side is bisected by a rough, irregular spine running vertically slightly left of center. To the left of this spine the wall is flattish; to the right and beginning at the top, several areas have been scooped out to form shallow concavities. Towards the bottom of the front side, the spine becomes less prominent, disappearing altogether just above the bottom. Here the two sides join to form a convex swelling. The bottom has a jutting promontory on both sides, the left one more pronounced and longer. At each side of the top at the seams between the front and back (the widest point of the piece) is a pointed, triangular protuberance. The interior is very irregular; it extends to about 2.5 cm (an inch) above the center bottom. The hole at the top is a rough oval, measuring 3.8 x 2.5 cm (1-1/2 x 1 in). The surface is smoothish, with some rough patches. There is a small metal hook on the upper back side for hanging the piece. This was inserted through a hole in the wall of the vase. 

This was fired unglazed. The remains of the posts used to separate the piece from the kiln shelves suggests that this was positioned with the back side up during the firing. The back side received a coating of ash, leaving it a mottled gray and black in color. The concavities on the right side of the front are reddish brown in color (hi-iro effects). The rest of the front is again a mottled gray and black. There are a few vitrified areas on the front of the vase, with a few streams of melted ash glaze on the right side. Except around the top, the interior of the piece lacks kiln effects. 

This came in a wooden box, inscribed by the artist, in three lines:  伊賀 / 掛花入 / 新学  (Iga / kakehanaire / Atarashi Manabu;  Igaware / hanging vase / Atarashi Manabu), followed by the artist’s seal stamped in red. Included in the box were a light blue wrapping cloth, also stamped in red with the artist’s seal, and a short printed biography of the artist in both Japanese and English. 

Purchased from Kura Monzen Gallery in Kyoto, Japan, May 2024 (invoice, shipping and customs documents).