朝鮮唐津

Many years back I was acquainted with the work of Karatsu potter, Nakatsuka Takaya in a short article written by Robert Yellin on his website and as a result was able to obtain a rather modest mizusashi at that time. Ever since that time I have kept my eye out for pieces by Nakatsuka and when the right piece popped up, we in turn would try to add it to our small collection though admittedly, because of the time difference and location most pieces have gotten away. About a year ago we spotted this pretty Chosen-Karatsu style chaire on a gallery site and inquired and well, here it is now a fitting companion to the mizusashi we collected all those years back.

As you can see in the photo, this chaire has a rather pleasant, articulated gourd form with what I would suggest are wonderful proportions and the glaze creates balanced areas of multi-color cascading tendrils blending in to large patches of soft, buttery plains of creamy taupe making for a rather splendid presentation. Adding this chaire to the mizusashi leaves us in need of a nice Karatsu chawan to make a fitting trio of pots by Nakatsuka Takaya as the only thing better than two is three.