SOLITARY PURSUITS

Illustrated is a landscape medallion painted iro-e enamels tsubo which to my eye is as close to modern Kutani as one can get. Made by Mitsui Tamekichi III, you can see a bit of Kitade Tojiro and Asakura Isokichi in his work, both masters he went on to study with after graduating from Kanazawa College of Art. The form and decoration work in a wonderful syncranicity where the exacting brushwork and color compliments the tsubo as well as create a rather luxurious visual where each medallion portrays and evokes a far off classic landscape that captures solitary pursuits and lifestyles of long forgotten aesthetes, literati and hermits. Though not particularly large, about 10" x 10" or so the volume of the pot creates a greater size than the measurements would convey which was a bit of a surprise when this pot was purchased from an Australian dealer off of the ubiquitous auction website all the way back in March of 1998*, the Wild West Days of the internet. Since this purchase, my wife has never lost interest in painted porcelains though I suspect Tomimoto Kenjichi has a bit to do with that. 

*I should mention that other than pots with receipts, I usually don't know exactly when we bought a specific pot but we signed up for the website on 3/21/1998 and then bid and won this pot on that day where the Western Union fees were almost greater that the cost of the pot and seamail shipping!