Japanese Contemporary Iga Stoneware Bowl by Shiro Tsujimura

A contemporary Stoneware Bowl made in the tradition of Iga ware by Japanese ceramic artist Shiro Tsujimura (1947-). In a slightly irregular round form, the deep bowl is called Hachi in Japanese. They are reminiscent of the elm bowls monks hold for food donation. Made from local coarse sandy clay and largely fired without glazing, the bowl has a lovely orange-reddish glow. The random ashes falling onto the piece created a random pattern, considered beauty to the eyes. There are also small areas of feldspars and vitrification, occurred unpredictably during the firing process. All these rendered the piece a strong Wabi-Sabi aesthetic that is one of the essences of Japanese art.
The bowl bears the artist's carved mark on the base as shown. comes with its original tomobako inscribed in Kanji with title (Iga Hachi Bowl) and signed Shiro and sealed Shi. It has a wrapping cloth as well.
Provenance: Koichi Yanagi Oriental Fine Arts, New York
Ex-David Drabkin Collection