Illustrated is a rather
involved set of Ki-Seto mukozuke by Iga potter Banura Shiro. Made to imitate
teoke, handled buckets, each mukozuke has a thin coat of glaze that accentuates
the form, simple incised decoration and is accented with copper. The glaze has
run slightly, helping to emphasize the height of each piece and animating the
rather strict, almost formal forms. One can just imagine them dominating a
table, almost standing guard among an array of small plates, bowls and cups on
a table. Though rather conventional in execution, Banura has made this form his
own through his simple execution of the idea, design and surface decoration; the
loose manner in which the lip is cut on the interior is a wonderful
counterpoint to the lines of the exterior of the pieces and breaks up the forms
in a way that Banura Shiro is quite adept at managing. In the end, these
mukozuke have been transformed from formal to playful with little more that a
knife cut and a quick dip in a bucket of glaze.
.JPG)