I
have to admit when I first saw the mark on this pot and the box hakogaki I had
to take a second look. Though the box clearly identifies the angular and stylized
henko as temmoku, I think I was still expecting a kannyu style seiji pot to
emerge from within. This crisp and well modeled henko which was fired in a noborigama
was made by seiji specialist Watanabe Akihiko at some point in the 1990s and
clear shows a highly meticulous craftsman and a master of glazing which is
written all over this pot. Defined as kiln change temmoku, this wonderful glaze
is a dark brown or greenish surface depending on the light and the surface is
literally alive with shimmering tea dust style effects that sparkle in the
sunlight as seen here and which reminds me of a lacquer artist who got a little
overly enthusiastic with the maki-e in an attempt to portray some distant far
off galaxy. The boundaries of the piece are clearly defined in a brilliant
tessha style iron where presumably the potter thinned the glaze by rubbing it a bit on the
high points to achieve this effect that is sheer perfection on the henko, a
detail that separates this pot from any near competitors. This henko has a
great size and the geometry of the pot presents a strong, stable and formal
presentation that truly is a contrast to the lush, curvy forms blanketed in
seiji glazes that Watanabe is perhaps best known for today though at their core
of striving for perfection and surface based on iron, both styles obviously
spring from the same dedicated spirit.
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