INSIDE OUT

About a month or so ago I was navigating the ubiquitous auction site on the web looking for a classic CD from the 1980s and stumbled on this chawan. I'll start by saying my finding this chawan was neither intended nor planned and how it popped up while looking for a China Crisis CD defies logic; at any rate the price was certainly low enough so I figured why not. This chawan is by mingei stalwart and Kawai Kanjiro pupil, Ueda Tsuneji and though it doesn't have a box sometimes you just have to collect a piece, box or not. Though the form of his nerikomi chawan are not exceptionally challenging or innovative, there are restrictions as to how far you can go using a slab of patterned clay without destroying the pattern in the process and this piece does show a small amount of post molded throwing in the form, lip and where the foot was attached. Perhaps making up for the conservation and fully functional form is the crisp, detailed and rich nerikomi pattern which shows very clearly on the inside and outside of the bowl. The use of various glazes, a clear glaze, temmoku and an additional iron glaze showcase and accentuate the pattern and bring a sense of movement to an otherwise stiff form. Beyond the laws of physics, there are laws and restrictions that apply to ceramics that most collectors fail to realize and I can tell you from experience, the more you fuss with nerikomi and neriage clay the mor the pattern breaks down, gets muddled up and becomes unrecognizable and it is obvious that Ueda Tsuneji developed an exacting way to work that prevented this from happening and leaves the viewer with a sense of awe.

CHINA CRISIS; FIRE & STEEL