Kokuyōsai Tsubo Jar by Suzuki Tomio

Description

To further enhance their tactile appeal, Suzuki Tomio approaches every unglazed pot as a landscape architect would an undeveloped plot of earth.  It first requires slow, thoughtful sculpting before anything is lain upon it.  As a result, his clay creations are renowned for their terraced surfaces, ridges, and winding vistas.

This stately tsubo jar is done in a glaze Suzuki calls kokuyōsai, or "shimmering black".  Based upon the same glazing and firing process as shino, kokuyōsai possess a depth and heated energy like no other in his glazing repertoire.  Red and white feldspar drip details dance wildly around a black manganese base, like smoke and flame from Dante's Inferno.

Although traditionally used for storing tea leaves and other dry goods, tsubo are often used for flower arrangements.  This one is large enough to accommodate grand ikébana compositions of branches and long stemmed flowers.  As an interior piece, however, it commands equal attention all on its own.

Suzuki Tomio's shino pottery is held in private collections around the world and, in 2011, was acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art for display in their East Asian Art collection.

A wooden presentation box will be custom made to order and signed by the artist.  Delivery time for this item is 2 weeks.

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