When I first saw this kohiki
chawan all I could think of is that it just exudes a sense of antiquity. The
form is simple, casual and certainly not fussed over in the least as if it just
sprung to life from off a hump of clay on a potter's wheel. It is easy to see
shades of much older pottery in this bowl especially from various Korean
potteries from centuries before this bowl was even thrown. Thrown out of a
gritty, slightly sandy clay, once thrown and tooled the body was covered over in
a white ship which as it dried and fired cracked and fissured creating a
wonderful soft texture under this yellow amber ash glaze (ame-haiyu). The
proprotions of the bowl to foot work nearly perfectly creating a foot that acts
as a stable and study pedestal to a broad and flaring form that despite its
termination appears to continue to reach out beyond its actualk circumferance. In
case you didn't recognize the potter, this ash glazed kohiki chawan was made by
Kyoto potter, Kimura Morinobu. Spending much of his life pursuing ash and iron
as the main constituents of his glazes. Though this may or may not be common
knowledge, ash varries trememdously from batch to batch, tree to tree and bush
to bush and though he would burn these materials himself, there is a great
amount of diversity between new batches of new glazes. I have seen this style
glaze a number of times and this one has more depth and activity that my
previous encounters though I can't quite say why, using natural materials adds
that small degree of serendipity to each and every firing and pot. However this
pot came to be it would seem that the potter, clay, glaze and firing all worked
in simpatico creating a near perfect relationship between the old and new.
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