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
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