Mashiko Yaki Oozara (Large Plates), Dia. 12.25" (31.5cm); Vintage production, purchased in 1965. These plates feature patterns from the four seasons: Ume (Plum) for Spring, Shobu (Iris) for Summer, Nekoyanagi (Pussywillow) for Autumn, and Kiku (Chrysanthemum) for Winter. These types of plates were made using molds and then hand-painted as stock items sold in Mashiko in the 1960's & '70s. They are sturdy in form and design, and were seen in many a home and restaurant in Mashiko, ...click for details
Mashiko ware Vase by local potter Outsuka Sadao. Impressed Inlay Patterning. H. 12.75" x Body Dia. 6.5". Stamped at foot "Sada". Purchased in 1965. Good condition, holds water - tested. Condition notes: you can see in enlargement #2 that the vase has a lean/list to one side. Also, there is a "kamakizu" (kiln scar) of a small rock burst on the body. These are imperfections that may make the piece more attractive to some, and less attractive to others.
There are sev ...click for details
Mashiko ware lidded jar by local potter Oushima Shou. H. 14.5" x Body Dia. 10.5". Purchased in 1965. Mottled light green Irabo-type glaze with some color changes on body. There are some chip repairs on the inside of the lid done in lacquer and synthetic gold (see detail photo.) The post-war years in Mashiko saw a growth in decorative pottery such as this. Previosuly a traditional pottery town making strictly utilitarian wares since 1853, it was put on the map worldwide when potter Sho ...click for details
Mashiko ware black glaze pitcher. H. 10" x Body Dia. 6". Small chip on rim repaired in lacquer & synthetic gold. Purchased in 1965. Mashiko wares from Tochigi Prefecture have gained a worldwide reputation since potter Shoji Hamada settled there in 1923. It's been said that such handles as the one seen on this piece, and not typically Japanese, were introduced by Hamada and by Bernard Leach into Mashiko and other pottery Japanese pottery towns. This is a fine example of such a w ...click for details
Tea cup by Kimura Seiketsu of Mashiko, with three elements of circle, triangle, square. Kimura, born in 1953, has been operating an independent kiln in Mashiko since 1983. The town of Mashiko, in Tochigi Prefecture, is one of the world's largest pottery communities. Starting as a production center for utilitarian pottery in 1858, Mashiko today is a mecca for the ceramic artist-craftsperson largely due to the town's exposure by the late Hamada Shoji and other members of the Mingei (Folk C ...click for details
Mashiko-ware yunomi (tea cup),new. This is a kata (mold) made yunomi, refered to in the local Mashiko dialect as a "mambo" yunomi. It has been a standard production item in Mashiko for many years. This cup features an "ame" (yellow - wheat gluten) glaze with an open medallion featuring a blue brushworked "sasa" bamboo leaf pattern. Volume = 6 oz/180ml. H.3.125"(8cm) X Dia.3.125"(8cm.) The town of Mashiko is located about 70 northwest of Tokyo, in Tochigi P ...click for details
A canning jar from an early American pottery. H.8.5'x Base Dia.5". This 19th century canning jar (pot) has a rich brown glaze (Albany slip?) and exhibits the simple beauty of traditional functional pottery. It makes a wonderful flower vase.
Mashiko ware vase with long neck coated in black glaze, and overglaze painting of camelia flowers on body, ca. 1960's. H.48cm(19") x Dia.23cm(9"). A fine example of vintage Mashiko ware that might have graced the tokonoma of a local Mashiko family home, this vase conveys an elegant shape while retaining its simple rustic background. Mashiko wares became popular through the work of National Living Treasure Hamada Shoji, who settled in this agricultural pottery town in the 1920's ...click for details
Tea leaf storage jars used in Japan like this were produced in and out of Japan from about the 15th century onwards. I wish I could say that this is one of the famous Muromachi Era "nanban" wares from the Phillipines or Southern China that are so prized by Japanese tea ware collectors, but it is one of the replica items made up through the Meiji Era in Seto, Japan. Still, the Japanese kept the traditional shape and produced many fine chatsubo in their own right. H.38cm (15") Body ...click for details
Imari ware bowls for serving small amounts of food were known as "kurowanka." These bowls feature a "sansui" land & sea scape scene in underglaze cobalt blue on a porcelain body. Each piece is in god condition with individual measurements of H.4cm X Dia.15cm.
