Bizen-style Flower Vase

Artist

Isezaki Mitsuru (Japanese, 1934 – 2011)

Date

1970s-1980s

Medium

Glazed stoneware

Dimensions

Work : 9 1/4 in. high (23.5 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Maurice Kawashima

Object Number

1990.3.31

Label

The kilns of the Bizen region in Okayama Prefecture have been producing ceramics since at least the 11th century. Bizen potters use the local iron-rich clay to make ceramics with coarsely textured bodies and glazes that cover a color spectrum from orange to brown to almost black. Isezaki Mitsuru came from a family of traditional Bizen potters and specialized in making ceramics for use in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The drips in the glaze on this flower vase suggest that it was made using the korogashi technique in which objects are placed in the kiln on their sides rather than upright to create unexpected visual effects.