HUMILITY IN CLAY

There really isn't a lot that one can say about this simple, honest bowl other than to say it is a traditional Fujina-yaki hachi by Funaki Michitada. Thrown out of a red earthenware and glazed in classic green glaze over slip with impressed decoration and a rolled lip, the pooled deep iron-green highlights the piece and just begs to be used or at the very least enjoyed. Funaki Michitada  was the inheritor of a 300 year old tradition, Fujina-yaki and Holder of Intangible Cultural Property of Shimane Prefecture and together with his son, Kenji, both through the popularity of Leach, Yanagi and Hamada put their work on the international stage. This particular bowl was bought in Fujina and brought to the US as a gift for a friend back in the late 1950s and was packed in shaved excelsior as was common for the time though no longer present. As I said, there is really little I can say about this humble bowl other than in its humility, its nobility shines through the rich surface. On a side note, this pot was originally collected by Merlin C. Dailey, Japanese art dealer and author on the prints of Utagawa Kuniyoshi.