Ceramic Closed-Form Moon Pot by Toshiko Takaezu

A ceramic closed-form pot by Japanese American artist Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922 - 2011), circa 1980-1990s. The moon pot takes a near perfect rounded form. It has small sprout with a tiny air hole on top and a ring base that cut to minimize the height in order to accentuate the moon shape. The surface of this pot is covered a copper brown glaze on the top portion and a dark near black glaze on the lower portion. Strokes of black glaze were brushed across and also dripped from the lower portion into the copper brown glaze, forming an abstract minimalistic color-scape. The palette of the glaze is subdued with an introspective quality. The laconic strokes of the dark glaze on the copper brown render the piece a meditative and Zen ambience. There is no rattle inside and the base was marked with the artist's TT signature.
From an American collection in NY.
The iconic close-form vessel by the artist takes the simplest organic form but is instilled with a deeper philosophy. The void space and the air trapped inside of the pot was considered by the artist as important as the physical material that defines the space. They were created with the artist's signature abstract and poetic approach: free hand and wabi-sabi. The artist's work, heavily influenced by the Japanese ceramic tradition and aesthetics, elevated pottery into the status of fine art.