CARRYING ON

Over the years I have seen quite a few pots by Kawai Takeichi including at Merlyn Dailey's EAST WEST SHOP in Victor, New York. My wife and I would stop there every chance we got on on treks between upstate NY and Cleveland. Merlyn always had quite a few Kawai Takeichi and other modern pots on hand as well as numerous prints including those by Kosaka Gajin who's minimalist black and white images we greatly admired. At one point he had two mizusashi at the gallery, both molded and square in form, one rich gosu and the other in this exact pale green ash glaze over slip trailing, both were sold the night before we showed up during an exhibition of Japanese prints.    

Flash forward a couple of decades and this mizusashi came our way in a slightly different form than the previous two we had handled as it is truly square and the lid fits in any position you decide to set it, the others were almost a bit lozenge in shape and only fit in two positions. Made in a mold with an applied inner lip, the body was quickly sliptrailed in a gritty, almost sandy slip. The texture in the sliptrailing gives the decoration a wonderful visual and actual texture with each plane of the square decorated in a similar manner pulling the form together and presenting bold almost calligraphic designs at the center of each side. The lid has a simpler decoration in which straight lines define the geometry and borders the edges, finished with a perfect handle that reminds me of earlier English pottery. To complete the form, the mizusashi and lid were glazed in an ash glaze that makes for a pale green surface that builds up slightly on the northern side of the slip trailing creating areas of glassy and wet accents carrying on a tradition inspired by Yanagi, Hamada and the Mingei Movement. Now to be clear, I am in no way comparing this pot to the work of Kawai Kanjiro but to my eye Kawai Takeichi has captured the essence and presence of the master's work and certainly is an exceptional addition to the school founded by a quiet and humble artisan decades before this pot was even conceived of.