RAMBLING ACCOUNT

Fair warning, what follows is a concise (?) rambling account of a recent experience with a fellow collector that falls short in its telling compared to, say, Shakespeare but I will do my best to be as impartial as is possible also bearing in mind that right or wrong can reside somewhere in the middle. Less than a year ago, I started receiving messages from a beginning collector of Japanese pottery asking about different potters, signatures, the issues of fakes and other common issues. Over time the relationship became what I refer to as one of “internet friends”, we would share links, talk about recent acquisitions and best of all, we agreed to not compete against each other which worked quite well on both ends. Along with this “sharing is caring”, I sent along links of more than several pots that I was watching and waiting, well hoping would come down in price. Among these, this fellow collector decided to buy several of these pieces and to be fair, my thought process was, well, he was willing to pony up and spend the money at a time when I was not, best someone got the piece(s).      

Fast forward to recently when a pot I have been watching and this collector was aware of that fact (as I had originally sent him the link) for several months, finally went down in price but was on sale for only an additional 40 minutes. I contacted the other collector and told him I was going to purchase the pot unless I heard back to the contrary, he was online as I messaged him. Not hearing anything, we decided to go ahead and made the purchase and again informed the other collector, we had made the purchase, no subterfuge, we wanted to be above board. At this point, somehow cast as Othello’s Iago, the collector came back and used some choice language and finished his final message with, “I hope it arrives damaged”.      

Over the years I have certainly had a few dust-ups with fellow collectors over specific pieces, most were forgotten after the heat of the moment and of course, some were not. Collecting is fiercely personal, presumably driven by passion and to quite an extent, obsession but in all my years of collecting I have never had a fellow collector wish a pot arrive damaged*. Again, not painting myself as innocent in this tragic affair but the final statement and gesture really do have me wondering, how can someone really care or be passionate about an object and hope for its untimely demise, in my book, that is misguided at best and certainly more likely an unacceptable attitude of anyone who honestly values the hand made. (*As a post-script, I should mention the pot which caused this angst arrived, safe and sound, well packed and complete with a 20% off international shipping coupon, thank you very much.)       

Not to be confused with the pot in the ramble you may or not have made it through, here is a very cool blue heki-yu guinomi by Kimura Yoshiro with a flock of birds design making their way around the piece. The rich black decoration is just perfect against the deep, azure sea blue where the animated, whimsical nature of the piece would certainly add to the experience of use. Perfect blend of the old and the new and honestly, just a fun piece all around.