RIN II

Despite the carved exterior and interior, there is a purity to this hakuji chawan that harkens back to its antecedence, the Sung Dynasty. This finely thrown porcelain chawan has a wonderful lotus design carved into the bowl that stands proud against surface creating a rather tactile experience while the eyes also register the finely incised decoration on the interior. As if this exterior and interior decoration wasn't quite enough, the lip of the chawan is rendered to try to assist the carved lotus design adding an additional layer of detail adding to the sense of both antiquity and modernity.         

This hakuji porcelain chawan was made by Kurashima Taizan of the Daizan-gama of Sue-cho, Fukuoka, as I had previously mentioned, "the pottery of the Kurashima family is known as Sue-yaki and as mentioned and looks to both Chinese ceramics and Arita ware for its initial inspiration" and exudes a Sung charm while maintaining a distinctly Japanese aesthetic (as I am sure Chinese ceramic collectors would attest). Taizan excels at finely thrown, crafted pottery with varying degrees of carved and incised surfaces which can be clearly seen in this chawan as well as the small lobed vase that I posted some while back. Kurashima is rather fluent in the use of seihakuji and hakuji as one can see in this chawan and the previous post showing off a sensitivity to both purity (rin) and nobility handed down within the family and honed over decades and decades of dedicated pursuit of a specific aesthetic.