A
very perceptive collector friend of mine was lucky enough to happen on to this
phenomenal Tsukigata Nahiko Oni-Shino hanaire a while back. I say lucky, but
luck had nothing to do with it really. He saw and exceptional piece and
committed to acquiring it, despite the financial strain. This Tsukigata pot is
one of those classic front & back pots with the face as you see it and the
rear having a molten, iron rich flow of glaze and ash cascading down the rear.
The face has these unctuous rolls of thick Shino frozen for all time framed by
iron and ash from its battle within the fiery kiln controlled in part by a master
potter. The form of this vase, is one of a group that Tsukigata used throughout
his career and strikes a monumental, nearly totemic stance with the surface
accentuating and painting the lines of the pot.
As
if the very nature and quality of this textbook surface was not enough, this
pot appeared in the book highlighting Tsukigata's pioneering achievements in
the book; ONI-SHINO (1974). As a friend
once reminded me, the only thing better than having a truly great pot, is to
have the pot illustrated in a book, it is hard to discredit at that point. This
timeless pot shows a glimpse into the creative maelstrom that defines Oni-Shino
and stands as testament to one of the great innovators of Shino of the 20th
century.
"Chance
favors the prepared mind." Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
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