Rather than glazed, this bowl by Nijubu Fumio seems encrusted with gray, scorched and dry, like something calcified over time, yet the interior feels wet like limestone deposits deep inside a subterranean chamber. The shape is slightly distorted, the rim undulating, a pleasure to hold and drink from. It is 13 cm (over 5 inches) diameter, 8.3 cm (3-1/4 inches) tall and in perfect condition, enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Nezumi Shino Wan.
Nijubu Fumio (born 1947) is a prominent Japanese ceramic artist from Osaka Prefecture, best known for his mastery of traditional Mino ware. He operates his kiln in Toki City, Gifu Prefecture, and specializes in classic Japanese pottery styles such as Nezumi-Shino (gray-glazed Shino) and Kiseto (yellow Seto). Notably, he was the first Japanese ceramicist appointed as a full-time visiting professor at China's Jingdezhen Ceramic University, where he taught for eight and a half years to foster international cultural exchange.
