IN ARCA AUTEM NON EST HINC

Over the years of being around Japanese pottery, the topic of signed wood boxes seems to be a constant discussion likening pots without boxes to the undesirables from the Island of Lost Toys. Though I am an absolute believer that if at all possible a pot should have its original signed box or an attested one, I have long ago concluded that at the core, I collect pots and the boxes are secondary, a necessary evil if you will. For those that have been around collecting off of a specific ubiquitous auction site, the early days was filled with unboxed, unidentified pots ranging from semi-commercial all the way to Okabe Mineo, Hamada Shoji, Kawai Kanjiro and even Rosanjin and trust me, few collectors I know were going to let the lack of a box stop them from bidding.     

How I got on this topic was a recent purchase I made, a rather affordable but unboxed Iga hanaire (Yama-Iga) made by Furutani Michio. As you can see in the photo, this vase is patterned after a classic early Iga archetype with wonderfully gestural marks and lugs creating a somewhat whimsical pot with the addition of a nice firing and ash to wet the surface and move especially through the incised markings made by the potter. At the very first glance, this is a classic Furutani Michio pot from form and posture to the maker's marks and the firing and I think few would need a box to inform them of its creator. I guess my real point is box or no box there are some pots that easily make that decision a no-brainer.