Japanese Tea Shop Sign

An exceptionally rare, wonderfully designed Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese master woodblock printmaker/ artist Shiko Munakata (1903-1975) who is widely considered to be the most important Japanese visual artist of the 20th century and the Pablo Picasso of Japan. This hand-painted work clearly illustrates Munakata's whimsical side as it is of a Koma - a child's spinning top toy. Very few examples of Munakata's work in ceramics exist still today. The work is signed by Munakata on the base as well as the original wood protective storage box (his seal can also be seen faintly in the lower-left corner). The bowl has a small kintsugi or "golden joinery" repair - the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold - on the inside. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. Munakata who is often compared to Picasso was primarily associated with and a principal figure in both the Sosaku-Hanga (which stressed the artist as the sole creator ) and the Mingei (folk art) movements. His many accolades and awards include the "Prize of Excellence" at the Second International Print Exhibition in Lugano, Switzerland in 1952, and first prize at the São Paulo Bienal Exhibition in Brazil in 1955, followed by the Grand Prix Award at the Venice Biennale in 1956, and the Order of Cultural Merit, the highest honor in the arts by the Japanese government in 1970. In 1960 after returning from a year abroad exhibiting his work in the United States, the Horinji Temple in Kyoto bestowed upon him the honorary rank of “Hokkyo”. In 1962, he received the rank of “Hogan” from Nisseki Temple in Toyama prefecture. He also received a Medal of Honor in 1963 and the Asahi Shimbun culture prize in 1965. Munakata's work can be found in numerous international collections and museums including: The Britsih Museum, UK The Chicago Art Institute Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), NY The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), NY The Philadelphia Museum of Art The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), Washington DC Kemper Art Museum, St. Louis And his own museum The Munakata Shiko...

A spectacularly designed and beautifully made Chawan tea bowl dating back to the Edo period. This work is attributed to Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743) who is wi...