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With Original Box

Mouth diameter: 11 cm / Body dimensions: 17.5 × 13 cm / Height: 22.5 cm.

This square-shaped vase with floral motifs is a work by renowned potter Kanjirō Kawai, dating from around 1939 (early Shōwa period).

The vase features a bold, square-shouldered form, adorned on both sides with dynamic and lively floral designs. The vivid red hue, rendered in copper red glaze (shinsya), enhances the expressive composition.

A similar piece is illustrated in Kawakatsu Collection – Kanjirō Kawai from the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art, underscoring the historical and artistic significance of this work. Comes with the original wooden box (tomobako).

Kanjiro KAWAI

1890 - 1966

Kanjirou Kawai was a Kyoto-based potter within the folk tradition of Japanese and Korean ceramics and a key figure in Mingei (Japanese folk art movement). He was a long-time friend of Shōji Hamada, Soetsu Yanagi, and Bernard Leach with whom he co-founded the Japan Folk Art Association in 1926. He refused all official honors, such as the designation of “Living National Treasures,” He often decorated his works with bold, semiabstract blossom motifs, which he painted freely in under-glaze cobalt blue, iron brown, and copper red.