At the height of his power,
warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), one of the "Three Great
Unifiers" of Japan, ordered the construction of a golden tea ceremony
room at Osaka Castle. The room would become a testament to his
vast wealth and influence and, against the sensibilities of his
appointed tea master, Sen no Rikyu, would be used for political and
military discussions. Honored guests were served tea from a
glittering bowl covered with pure gold.
The story of Hideyoshi's opulent tea room is the source of inspiration
behind this yohen-kin shino tea ceremony bowl by Tomio Suzuki. After
nearly a decade of experimentation and refinement, Mr. Suzuki has
created a lustrous, golden glaze while adhering to traditional shino
making techniques. Although the components of the glaze remain
secret, the artist will concede that no precious metal is used in the
process. Unlike Hideyoshi's gold covered tea bowl, the radiant
character of yohen-kin shino is born inside the kiln.
This inspired chawan is done in Mr. Suzuki's signature glaze and formed
in the han-tsutsu
(half-cylinder) shape. The face of the bowl is a sculpted
landscape of deeply cut facets, crackled feldspar and fluid
brushwork. The rear, in contrast, is much more simple.
Abundant pinholes resembling the surface of citrus skin afford a peek
of shino's classical past. The walls
are hand-formed with coils of light mogusa clay, leading up to an
undulating "mountain path" rim, and the weight of the bowl
rests squarely on a wide footring roughly formed with only the aid of
a tree branch.
A chawan that is a delight to hold and behold. When filled with
whipped green tea, the lustrous interior becomes a stunning panorama - like an
emerald lake at sunrise.
A purple display cloth (fukusa) is included.
A wooden presentation box will be custom made to order and signed by
the artist. Delivery time for this item is 2 weeks.
See Tomio Suzuki's
Hanshin Gallery exhibition
for more from his 2007 collection.
special care instructions |
