Friday, May 12, 2023

A KINUTA REVISITED


A while back I posted up a rather shadowy picture of this Iga kinuta vase by Furutani Michio and thought that though these aren't the best pictures that gave a fuller accounting of the pot. As you can clearly see, this simple form has what I consider to be rather spot on proportions with a surface that takes full advantage of the vertical surfaces as well as the slightly depressed shoulder. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the landscape of this vase is the way in which it seems segmented from foot to mouth adding a variety of glaze effects and hues to add to the movement of the form upward. Like many of Furutani Michio's pots, this form is simple at its core, communicating antiquity through the study and influence numerous archetypical pieces but there is individuality and modernity in most of his work adding to the Iga and Shigaraki traditions to which he was dedicated to for the majority of his life and I think this Iga kinuta easily fits within that treasured and finite body of work.