Composed of what appears to be three
distinct components, this rich gosu hakeme henko was made by Mukunoki Eizo
using a construction technique and surface decoration he learned from his
master Kawai Kanjiro. The interesting thing about this particular henko form is
that the middle and top components are
made in one mold and the bottom in another, this has afforded Mukunoki the
ability to create a number of forms using several separate molds and assembling
them in various ways. The last two pieces of this type that I saw, the first was
glazed in a rich temmoku with splashes of tessha and the henko was only the middle
and top components and the other had a split, notched foot pedestal as the
bottom of the piece which was glazed in a shinsha copper red over some slip
trailing around the large central portion of the pot. This henko has been
decorated in a thick coat of white slip, hakeme style around the entire surface
that once glazed in his own version of the Kawai-den gosu creates a rather
active and captivating landscape. It may sound a bit simplistic but how can you
go wrong with white slip and a Kawai school gosu?
"The aspect of things that are most
important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and
familiarity." Ludwig Wittgenstein ( 1889-1951)
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