Vintage Japanese Modernist Wood-Fired Shino Ware Vessel With Handles, Signed

Details

Description

Wood-Fired Shino Ware Vessel with Handles

Artist: Signed (see description)

Culture/Period: Japan, Late Showa Period (mid-20th Century)

Medium: Stoneware with … Read more Wood-Fired Shino Ware Vessel with Handles

Artist: Signed (see description)

Culture/Period: Japan, Late Showa Period (mid-20th Century)

Medium: Stoneware with natural ash glaze and Shino glaze

Dimensions: 3” H x 5.75” W x 5.75” D (7.6 x 14.6 x 14.6 cm)

Description:‍ ‍

A hand-built stoneware vessel with two pulled handles. The piece exemplifies the modern revival of traditional Shino glaze techniques, characterized by its thick surface with subtle reddish-peach flashing and areas of crawling. The potter's signature is incised on the side of the body.

Artistic Context & Analysis:‍ ‍

This vessel represents the Mingei (folk craft) movement's influence on 20th-century Japanese studio pottery, which emphasized rustic beauty, spontaneity, and the embrace of accidental effects from firing processes. Shino glaze, one of the oldest Japanese glazes dating to the Momoyama period (16th century), was revived and reinterpreted by modern potters who valued its unpredictable, expressive qualities. The wood-firing process in a noborigama (climbing kiln) contributes significantly to the final aesthetic, as flying ash melts onto the clay body, creating a natural glaze and deepening the vessel's color and texture.

Condition Report:‍ ‍

The vessel is in excellent condition with no structural damage, cracks, or restoration. The surface exhibits mild firing irregularities and minute ash pitting inherent to the wood-firing process, along with a gentle patina from age and handling. These characteristics are not flaws but are intrinsic to the aesthetics of the firing process and the object's history. See less