Shoji Hamada Tenmoku Kaki And Nuka Glaze Vase With Original Signed Branded Box

An exquisite, beautifully crafted Japanese pottery vase by master potter Shoji Hamada featuring Hamada's famous signature tenmoku glaze with kaki trailing. The original Hamada signed and sealed wood storage box is included as well as the written appraised signature of his son Shinsaku Hamada. The vase also comes with a printed artist profile/sales brochure of Hamada (featuring some of his other presumably available work). It appears this piece was offered at the Keio Department store in Shinjuku, Tokyo. At first glance, this may seem odd but in fact, this is quite an honor in Japan. This store is known for selling and exhibiting such high-profile artists and potters as Bernard Leach, Lucie Rie, Gyokudo Kawai, Shiko Munakata, Kawai Kanjiro, and Rosanjin Kitaoji. A major goal of many ceramic artists in Japan is to have a one-man exhibition in a department store. For many Westerners, this is a strange concept. Some of the larger department stores have up to three or four dedicated galleries showing concurrent art exhibitions. A well-known artist's exhibition can bring in hundreds, often thousands, of customers to a store and increase revenue for other sales in the millions-of-yen range. These exhibits are usually longer running and highlight a potter's career, like a Living National...

An exquisite, beautifully crafted, sumptuously glazed vase by Japanese Mingei Mashiko pottery master Shoji Hamada, which features a fine example of his highly coveted rich Kaki/persi...

A very fine vintage handcrafted Studio Pottery miniature tenmoku glazed vase by renowned potter Atsuya Hamada (Japanese, 1932-1986) and made at the Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall...

Made by Japanese ceramic artist Makoto Yabe (1947-2005), this stoneware vase features a globular body supported by a round pedestal foot. A similarly shaped neck extends to a rimmed mouth opening. Robust in form with thick wall, the vase is noted for its irregular cloved form. The surface is covered in a beige-yellow glaze, on top of which, dark brown strokes and thick white feldspar slip were artistically applied in a splashed and washed pattern. Together with some random shallow incision lines, they form an abstract painting with textured surface where some slip forms small droplets at the end of the stroke. The work was created in traditional Japanese manner and reflects the beauty of Wabi Sabi, a Zen aesthetic for the imperfect perfection. The base was incised with the artist's cipher. "Makoto Yabe's work beautifully exemplifies the transmission of Japanese ceramics to the West. Born in Fukushima, Japan, Yabe began studying ceramics in Kyoto at the age of nine. He completed his training at the age of 24, with a four-year apprenticeship under Jinmatsu Uno and Sango Uno. Yabe then came to Boston, where he was an integral member of the local ceramic community, yet he maintained his Japanese roots. As an instructor of ceramics, Yabe worked in the Boston area at numerous schools and universities, touching the lives of all his students and expanding their knowledge and appreciation of studio ceramics." Biography sited from Pucker Gallery...