There is little I can say
about this magnificent Persian influenced vase; from my perspective it is simply
a masterwork by the late Ningen Kokuho, Kato Takuo. First thrown in a white
clay and painstakingly altered into a
rectangular form, he accentuated areas around the piece with tool and spatula
marks to further animate the pot. The upper tier has a number of hand modeled
rams heads in various poses with accents of gold over the truly this inspired
Toruko-ao glaze. The pot conveys an essential timelessness as if it had been
made in 13th century Persia and survived intact to this very day. The white
crackle "frosting" across the surface adds a sense of dynamic tension
that creates a wondrous sense of the exotic and mysterious to yet another piece
that is thoroughly out of place and out of time.
.JPG)