Toshiko Takaezu

American, 1929-2011

Toshiko Takaezu was an American ceramic artist and painter. She was born to Japanese immigrant parents in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, in 1922. She studied at the Honolulu Museum of Art and the University of Hawaii under Claude Horan from 1948–51.

From 1951–54, Takaezu continued her studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she befriended Finnish ceramist Maija Grotell, who became her mentor. In 1955, Takaezu traveled to Japan, where she studied Buddhism, visited Shoji Hamada and observed the techniques of traditional Japanese pottery, which continued to influence her work. She taught for 10 years at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and then from 1967–92, she taught at Princeton University, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate.

Takaezu retired in 1992 to become a studio artist, living and working in Quakertown, New Jersey, about 30 miles northwest of Princeton. In addition to her studio in New Jersey, Takaezu made many of her larger sculptures at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. She made functional wheel-thrown vessels early in her career. Later, she switched to abstract sculptures with freely applied poured and painted glazes.

In the early 1970s, when Takaezu didn’t have access to a kiln, she painted on canvas. Her work is part of the permanent collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, among many others.

Takaezu was the recipient of the Gold Medal of the American Craft Council and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant. She lived in Hawaii for 10 years and died March 9, 2011, in Honolulu.

Find Toshiko Takaezu art for sale on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by The Nevica Project LLC)

Average Sold Price

$3,171

Styles

Materials

Related Creators

C. Jeré Artisan House

Artisan House

Beatrice Wood

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl

$1,995

H 2.75 in W 5 in D 4.9 in

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired bowl features a vast array of shifting...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Toshiko Takaezu

Materials

Earthenware, Pottery

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Studio Pottery Closed Form With Rattle Sculpture

$8,500

H 4.25 in Dm 4 in

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Studio Pottery Closed Form With Rattle Sculpture

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed closed-form sculpture with rattle by renowned Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu, famed for her use of color,...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Toshiko Takaezu

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

Toshiko Takaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Glazed Pottery Chawan Yunomi Tea Bowl

$995

H 2.1 in Dm 3.25 in

Toshiko Takaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Glazed Pottery Chawan Yunomi Tea Bowl

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

An absolutely gorgeous and wonderful chawan tea bowl / yunomi cup by famed Japanese American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The work features a rich, matte black tenmoku glaze with ...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Toshiko Takaezu

Materials

Pottery

Toshiko Takaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

$2,495

H 4 in W 7 in D 7.15 in

Toshiko Takaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

A beautiful and quite engaging relatively large sumptuously glazed bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The high-fired stoneware bowl features a v...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Toshiko Takaezu

Materials

Pottery, Stoneware

Toshiko Takaezu Signed Japanese Shigaraki Ware Pottery Chawan Yunomi Tea Bowl

$1,495

H 2.15 in Dm 3.25 in

Toshiko Takaezu Signed Japanese Shigaraki Ware Pottery Chawan Yunomi Tea Bowl

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

An absolutely beautiful and extremely rare Shigarakai Yaki Ware Chawan tea bowl / Yunomi cup by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The work features a gorgeous dripped glaze over a anagama kiln fired Shigaraki clay body. It is a unique and one-of-a-kind work with a very Wabi-Sabi feel to it. The piece is signed on the base with her traditional "TT" mark / monogram. Shigaraki Ware pottery comes from Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The kiln there is one of six ancient kilns in Japan (along with Echizen ware, Seto ware, Bizen ware, Tamba ware, and Tokoname ware). In 1993, Toshiko was invited to Japan by Shiro Otani to work with the quartz rich clay and local artists/potters at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. In 1995 she made the journey there to work in master Japanese ceramicist Shiho Kanzaki's studio in Shigaraki,. We believe this work was likely created at this time. It appears few pieces that she made during this particular visit exists today as we have only seen one other work - another Chawan - that she created during this trip (The works were fired in Kanzaki's anagama kiln in February 1996 and subsequently shipped back to Toshiko in New Jersey). This particular work also encompasses the Japanese Wabi-Sabi aesthetic - the appreciation of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete in nature and embraces the principles of asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and the appreciation of both natural objects and the forces of nature upon them. Would be a great addition to any collectors of Toshiko's work or Japanese/Hawaiian pottery...

Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Toshiko Takaezu

Materials

Pottery, Stoneware

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Studio Pottery Closed Form With Rattle Sculpture

$9,500

H 5.5 in Dm 4.5 in

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Studio Pottery Closed Form With Rattle Sculpture

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

A beautiful and quite engaging wonderfully glazed closed-form sculpture with rattle by renowned Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu, famed for her use of color,...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Toshiko Takaezu

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

$2,995

H 3.25 in W 7 in D 7.25 in

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

A beautiful, sumptuously glazed, spectacular bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The high-fired porcelain bowl features a shifting earth toned dr...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Toshiko Takaezu

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

$2,495

H 3.25 in W 8.5 in D 8.6 in

Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Mid-Century Modern Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Bowl

By Toshiko Takaezu

Located in Studio City, CA

A beautiful and quite engaging relatively large sumptuously glazed bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The high-fired porcelain bowl features a v...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Toshiko Takaezu

Materials

Porcelain, Pottery

Browse all Furniture from Toshiko Takaezu

Shop Now

Toshiko Takaezu Sale Prices

Sold Date

Sold Price

Category

Material

Creation Year

2026	$2,495	Decorative Bowls	Pottery, Stoneware	1960s-1970s
2026	$1,500	Ceramics	Porcelain, Pottery	1960s-1980s
2025	$6,500	Ceramics	Porcelain, Pottery	1960s-1970s
2025	$7,000	Ceramics	Pottery, Stoneware	Mid to Later 20th Century
2025	$1,440	Ceramics	Porcelain, Pottery	1960s-1980s
2025	$88	Vases	Ceramic	1980s

$3,171

Average sold price of items in the past 12 months

$88-$7,000

Sold price range of items in the past 12 months

Creators Similar to Toshiko Takaezu

Robert Maxwell

Shop All Robert Maxwell

Joseph Malekan

Shop All Joseph Malekan

C. Jeré Artisan House

Shop All C. Jeré Artisan House

Artisan House

Shop All Artisan House

Beatrice Wood

Shop All Beatrice Wood

Clyde Burt

Shop All Clyde Burt

Howard Miller

Shop All Howard Miller

Virginia Metalcrafters

Shop All Virginia Metalcrafters

Peter Voulkos

Shop All Peter Voulkos

How the Chunky, Funky Ceramics of 5 Mid-Century American Artists Balanced Out Slick Modernism

Get to know the innovators behind the pottery countercultural revolution.

Toshiko Takaezu furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Toshiko Takaezu furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of ceramic and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Toshiko Takaezu furniture, although gray editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Toshiko Takaezu were created in the modern style in united states during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by James Lovera, Judith Leiber, and Larry Mohr. Prices for Toshiko Takaezu furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $995 and can go as high as $6,500, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $2,500.