Japanese Mingei Ceramic Jar Tatsuzo Shimaoka

A glazed ceramic vessel by Japanese potter Ryoji Koie (1938-2020). Hand-built with intention to be seen as such, the tsubo has a primordial irregular form with a small opening and a swelled body resembling a beehive. The upper body was covered in a glassy green oribe glaze with fine crackles, highlighted with three incised geometrical symbols. The lower body is unglazed and exposed the white clay with marks of the hand-making pinches and kneading along the base. The base also shows highly irregular surface due to the seashell spur marks and clay pitting in the kiln during the firing process. All these occurrences honestly preserved and presented as part of the character of this wonderful modern piece. The jar comes with a plain wooden tomobako box. "One of Japan’s most versatile and forward-thinking contemporary artists, KOIE RYOJI...

A massive and magnificent ceramic Tsubo jar by Japanese potter Tsujimura Yui (1975-). Inspired by the techniques and aesthetics of the early medieval Sue ware, the artist hand builds an impressive voluminous oviform, irregular by intention, from a combination clay from both Shigaraki and Iga, coarse by nature and rich in feldspar. Fired on their sides horizontally, the surface of the thick wall tsubo is covered with streaks and drips of natural ash glazes in shades of green and blue, forming an abstract and mesmerizing pattern that resembles geothermal earth activity. Additional ashes are blown during the firing to accentuate the textures. Most recognizably, there are many circular marks scattered on the surface of his archaic looking vessels. That is resulted from using stacked tea bowls to prevent the conjoining of the vessels. After the firing, the stacked vessels are chipped away, leaving behind those circular impression, as well as deep pools of glaze which gather where they were placed. Born in 1975, Tsujimura Yui is the first son of the contemporary ceramic artist Tsujimura Shiro...

A Japanese lidded ceramic jar from the kiln of Onda Yaki, circa 2007. The stoneware jar impresses the viewer with a robust bulbous form. and exuberantly splashed and dripped glaze in...

A large Japanese lidded ceramic jar from the kiln of Onda Yaki, circa 2010. The stoneware jar impresses the viewer with a robust bulbous form. Its black body is nearly unglazed but exuberantly splashed with strokes of slip glazes of white, yellow and blue. The visual effect is wonderful that it appears traditional and contemporary at the same time. The tri-color glaze calls to mind the San-Cai from Chinese Tang dynasty, yet the application is akin to abstract painting on canvas. Onda Yaki also spelled as Onta Yaki also spelled Onta, is a type of Japanese pottery produced in and around the village of Onta in Oita Prefecture in Kyushu Island. It was founded in 1705. Closely associated with Mingei folk art, Onda ware was inscribed by the national government in 1995 as an Intangible Cultural Property Background from Pucker Gallery where the jar was exibited and purchased. "In his search for true folk pottery, the Japanese philosopher Soetsu Yanagi...

A wonderfully designed and gorgeously colored coveted square Mingei bottle vase by Japanese National Treasure pottery master Tatsuzo Shimaoka. This vase is an early work of Shimaoka's before he started to use his impressed "Ta" signature. The rich colors are truly amazing and shift in the light. The vase comes with a Shimaoka signed and sealed box. The work is exquisite in every way and has a wonderful feel and heft to it. Shimaoka, who started as an apprentice to famed Japanese potter Shoji Hamada in 1946 before opening his own studio, has exhibited worldwide including North America, Asia, and Europe. In 1996 he was bestowed the title of Japanese Living Treasure...

These antique Awaji jars have a deep burgundy color with a beautiful translucence created by such high temperatures during firing, that it borders on stoneware. The interior brush ma...

Very unique Japanese vase with abstract pattern in a variety of brown tones. The deepest brown glaze is raised, giving the vase a wonderful tactile texture.

With cobalt blue decorated neck and base band. Large oval shaped panels on two sides featuring an amusing scene with rust tone and white foo lions in a river landscape looking back t...