A boxed set of two iron glazed sake cups studded with shiseki stones accompanied by a tall earthy katakuchi pouring vessel dripping with green glaze by the ever popular Murakoshi Takuma enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hai-yu Shuki Soroi (Ash glazed Sake Set). The iron on the cups is thin, allowing the full texture of the clay to show through. The Kunugi-hai ash glaze on the katakuchi is thick and licquid, with a dash of iton opposite emerald fingerlings running over the raw clay studded with shell marks where it was supported on its side in the kiln. The cups are 7.5 cm (3 inches) diameter, 5 cm (2 inches) tall, the pouring vessel 14 x 10 x 10 cm (5-1/2 x 4 x 4 inches) and all are in excellent condition, directly from the artist this spring.
Murakoshi Takuma is one of those enigmas who simply lives to work with clay. He does not seek to make a living through pottery, but through his primal approach has earned a following which keeps his work in high demand. He was born in Aichi prefecture in 1954 and began his stroll down the pottery path in 1980 under the tutelage of Kyoto potter Umehara Takehira. Favoring very rough Shigaraki glaze, he established his own kiln in 1997 in the Kiyomizu pottery district of Kyoto, then moved to Nagaoka in 2002. Although eschewing the world of competitive exhibitions, he has been picked up by many of Japan’s preeminent galleries, including private exhibitions at the prestigious Kuroda Toen of Tokyo’s Ginza District.
