Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966) Bottle Vase, Tenmoku Natural Glaze

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Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966) Mingei Bottle Vase.

Created in a neutral ash glaze with red and green highlights. For the display … Read more Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966) Mingei Bottle Vase.

Created in a neutral ash glaze with red and green highlights. For the display of flowers. A wonderful organic piece, in a sculptural form. I believe it is early production, circa late 30s. Some pitting and irregularities are consistent with other pieces by Kanjiro Kawai. The last two photos are presented for documentation and not included. A similar vase at Sotheby's in 1980 was offered for $800-$1200. That was 45 years ago, when they didn't include results.

6" H x 5.25" W x 3.25 D

Bio:

Kawai was born in 1890 in Shimane Prefecture. After graduating from Tokyo Higher Polytechnical School, Kawai worked and studied at the Kyoto Research Institute for Ceramics. In 1920, he built his own independent kiln in Gojozaka (inherited from Kiyomizu Rokubei V), and married Tsune Kawai (née Mikami Yasu) the same year.

His first ceramics exhibition was held the following year at Tokyo's Takashimaya Department Store. From the beginning, he studied ancient Chinese and Korean ceramics and was highly praised for developing pieces with increasingly unique molds. He also became a master of glazes and was said to have experimented with 10,000 unique glazes while a student at the ceramic divisions of Tokyo Technical College. Red copper glazes (shinsha or yuriko) were one of his trademark colors. He also used a deep brown iron glaze (tetsu-yu) and a brilliant cobalt blue glaze (gosu). Still, he held doubts about his style and temporarily ceased to make pottery. It was around this time that he was introduced to Yanagi Soetsu by Mashiko potter Hamada Shoji. In 1926, after wishing for the establishment of a "Japanese Mingei Museum". He helped to found the mingei (folk art) movement, along with Hamada, Yanagi, Bernard Leach, Munakata Shiko, and others.

He resumed making pottery again in 1929, pursuing "the beauty of use" and undergoing a massive change towards mingei style pieces. In 1937, he won the Grand Prix at the Paris Exhibition Internationale for "Tetsushinsha sokazutsubo", and another Grand Prix at La Triennale di Milano in 1957 for "Shiroji sokaehenko".

What set Kawai apart from his contemporaries was his refusal to sign his works or accept official honors, including the prestigious title of Living National Treasure. He believed that "my work itself is my best signature," a testament to his humility and dedication to his craft. See less