AKA-CHAWAN

I had this "AKA-CHAWAN" pass through here on its way to its new home a while back and honestly I rarely pass up the opportunity to handle the work of Konishi Heinai II if I can help it. Konishi is equally adept at making Raku style pottery and Iga-yaki and despite the box simply reading, red chawan this is very much Raku style pottery. I really admire the large tapering, vertical form with wonderfully tactile spatula work with a surface that is occasionally punctuated by black carburized spots making their way through the glaze all the while perched on a small yet stable kodai. Though the bowl has a well worked form and surface there is just enough curve and texture to make for a rather seductive chawan that infuses certain elements from the work of Koetsu and Chojiro while like a great chef, folding in the right characteristics and nuances of the modern age in which this bowl was produced. I won't go so far as to say this is a perfect Raku chawan but I'll let the viewer decide how far to go in the admiration of Konishi's Raku creations.