With original wooden box
Showa period
Living National Treasure
D26cm H31cm
A powerful vase by Hamada Shoji, a pivotal figure in the Mingei (Folk Craft) movement and a designated Living National Treasure.
This vessel features a robust, rounded contour covered in a rich, lustrous black glaze (kokuyu). The surface is decorated using Hamada’s signature morie (raised slip) technique, creating bold, three-dimensional geometric lines that flow seamlessly across the body. The subtle reddish-brown tones peaking through the edges add warmth and textural contrast to the deep black background.
Embodying the healthy, unpretentious beauty central to the Mashiko pottery tradition, this piece beautifully showcases the harmony of organic craftsmanship and strong sculptural form.
Shoji HAMADA（濱田庄司）
1894 - 1978
He was a potter within the folk tradition of Japanese. He was a long-time friend of Kanjiro Kawai, Soetsu Yanagi, and Bernard Leach with whom he co-founded the Japan Folk Art Association in 1926. Hamada became an important figure in the Japanese folk arts movement. After 1923, he moved to Mashiko where he rebuilt farmhouses and established his large workshop. Throughout his life, Hamada demonstrated an excellent glazing technique, using such trademark glazes as temmoku iron glaze, nuka rice-husk ash glaze, and kaki persimmon glaze. Through his frequent visits and demonstrations abroad, Hamada influenced many potters of the world in later generations as well as those of his own.
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