Mid 20th Century Tsuboya Ware, Okinawa (Teacup) Yunomi, Attributed to Shoji Hamada

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Offered is a Tsuboya Ware Yunomi from Okinawa Prefecture, attributed to Shoji Hamada

I am hesitant to attribute any piece … Read more Offered is a Tsuboya Ware Yunomi from Okinawa Prefecture, attributed to Shoji Hamada

I am hesitant to attribute any piece to Hamada without an original box. Hamada himself stated, "My good pots will be attributed to me and my bad pots to others." That infamous statement comes from a NY Times interview with Hamada, a portion of which is listed below.

A somewhat similar piece (shown in the last photo) is illustrated in "The Retrospective Exhibition of Shoji Hamada". This was published by the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo from April 16 - June 5, 1977. The piece is titled "Tea cup with red enamel overglaze. Tsuboya Kiln (Okinawa) 1968, page 40 #230. It comes from the collections of the Japan Folk Craft Museum.

The checkerboard design with broad brush work backgrounds is a known technique of Hamada's. The red and green floral decorations are another. What makes me believe this is an authentic piece by Shoji Hamada is the nearly identical profile and cream background tone. The crusty tenmoku brown glaze along the rim is another similarity shared by both pieces. I haven't held enough cups by Hamada to be familiar with claybodies and the handling of the base and foot rim to make a decisive comment. However, the well turned foot rim and conical form of the base exhibit fine craftsmanship. It came from the estate of a family who lived in Japan during the occupation and some time afterward.

As can be seen in the photos, there is a tight hairline.

It measures 3.5" in height and 2.5" across at the rim (a bit more towards the base).



This is a portion of the article from the NY Times, on October 30, 1963:

Often described as shy and a "man of few words," Mr. Hamada proved extremely voluble in an interview before the opening yesterday of an exhibition of his work at Bonniers, 605 Madison Avenue (near 58th Street). Punctuating his remarks with flashes of wit, he conceded that one result of his refusal to sign his stoneware was that in centuries to come, "my good pots will be attributed to me and my bad pots to others." In a more serious vein, he said, "We want to make a good pot, not a good name.” See less