UNDOUBTEDLY

 

This illustration came from an auction catalogue from a number of years back, an auction we made the trek to preview the various lots but this chawan specifically. there was a tremendous amount of bowl packed in to this chawan with its wonderful presence, posture and surface, a modern pot that has undoubtedly stayed at the very top of my list all these years. obviously heavily influenced by the Momoyama masterpiece, MINE no MOMIJI, this chawan is a tour de force by Wakao Toshisada and a piece I rate extremely high among his body of work. I have handled a handful of Wakao chawan in this style but this was the shining example, the others were not decorated quite as expressively and lacked the movement and animation that is present in this piece, in fact as I look at this pot, I can't help but see its foundation, the clay still on the wheel, perched high atop a large hump of clay, still spinning as the potter inspects his work and glistening from the recent use of moisture to aid in the throwing process. Last but not least, the rich use of color under the muting glaze surface paints a rather feudal narrative that clearly connects past to present in a way that resonates beyond the context of the chawan and its perceived purpose. In the end there is little else that I can say but; wow!