TWO FOR ONE

Okay, let me explain, when I had this chawan to photograph, I took three different styles of pictures, using tungsten lighting, all natural daylight and direct sunlight. When I was deciding to post a photo of this Nakayama Naoki Ki-Seto chawan I went back and forth between the first two styles and in the end decided on this composite photo to show just how entirely different this bowl looks depending on the light source. What I can tell you, irrespective of the lighting is that this chawan is the perfect blend of crusty ash built up on the face and a wet and almost luscious pale yellow-green glaze that shows off the clay and form to its fullest. 

As you can clearly see in the picture, this chawan has that distinctive Arakawa Toyozo influenced form whom Nakayama studied with and is a classic example of the infused Momoyama meets modern mindset that prevails within the Mino traditions to this day. In addition to the strong form and provocative surface there is a myriad of "special" effects caused from ash freely moving about the kiln that all conspire to create a miniature universe within the chawan all coalescing in the area of the mikomi, tea pool, details and the whole of the object all on display to please both the eye and the hand. At the end of the day I am continually pleased by the variations of appearance that manifest at differing times of day and location that in the end make me feel like the owner received two chawan for the price of one and that I suspect is quite a bargain. 

"The bargain is not a bargain, or what was not a bargain is a bargain, just as you please." Titus Maccius Plautus (Sounds a bit like Shakespeare, don't you think?)