Monday, April 1, 2024

TRICKY BOWL

I realize that I have posted this Tsukigata Nahiko chawan before but I ran across this picture of the bowl highlighted by both sunlight and shadow and thought I might as well give it one more go. I think this is a tricky bowl to decipher when loooking at it in a more convential setting, the quality of the glaze, the posture and overall feel of the form can easily get lost or become just a bit fuzzy. I am not trying to paint this as the end-all of Tsukigata chawan but rahter it has some rather special attribute which are best observed under a variety of light soruces and situations, the more you can see and converse with a piece or this piece specifically the more you get to understand it at its core from the bones to the toppings.  

As for my personal take on this chawan, this has been one of my favorites that I have handled by Tsukigata Nahiko. I am unsure exactly how to explain it but it has a sense of antiquity and an eminently casual demeanor, more like it just happened than was thought out, thrown, manipulated and tooled. The bowl feels natural, well balanced on its pedestal foot and welcoming in the hands, I am not sure you get all of this from this photos and others, along with a video that I have made but since it is rather happy where it is, as is the owner, I don't think it will be making the rounds any time soon so this will just have to suffice until another one shows up, fingers crossed.