KISMET

I think it is safe to say that this is something you don't see everyday or since I don't know what circles you may travel in, I will say that this is something that I do not see everyday. Actually I will state for the record that I have only seen two of these in person, one in the US and one in Japan and another two illustrated so I would rate this as a less commonly encountered Tsukigata Nahiko form. What you are looking at is downward view of an Oni-Shino te-oke hanaire likely made in the 1980s. Beyond the rich surface and texture the pot is covered in a thin coat of glassy ash but it is the dramatic, deep brown, crystalized ash that has coalasced in the interior that catches the eye almost immediately. Unprotected during the firing, the interior walls have collected free wheeling ash in the atmosphere which built up, melting and running down the walls into the pool of the te-oke which then cooled slowly creating the dark brown crystaline pool with hints of iridecence here and there.

 Though I have no doubts regarding Tsukigata's skill of placement and firing of his kiln, how much of this surface was fortuitous and simple serendipity as it seems that kismet follows his each and every firing? I am sure had he been asked at the time of its firing, Tsukigata Nahiko would have explained how it was all staged, planned for this exact effect and based on the beautiful and exotic interior of a huge percentage of his work, it is absolutely believable but to be honest, kismet may play a role in the supporting cast of this pot and perhaps a few others. 

 "There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed." Napoleon Bonapart