A fabulous red clay water container for use in the Japanese Maccha Tea Ceremony by Living National Treasure Ito Sekisui V enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Mizusashi. Formed from the exceptionally fine iron-rich mumyōi clay of Sado Island, the generously rounded vessel is finished in a rich, softly burnished red, interrupted at the lower body by a broad smoky black firing effect that dissolves gradually into the surrounding clay. Decoration is otherwise entirely absent, allowing the purity of the form and remarkable color of the material to carry the work. The fitted ceramic lid sits almost flush within the broad opening and is surmounted by a small ribbon-like finial, a playful sculptural detail against the severe simplicity of the vessel. Particularly striking in a tea setting, the jar combines the disciplined restraint of Mumyōi-yaki with an unexpectedly modern sense of form. It measures 21.5 cm (8-1/2 inches) in diameter and 21 cm (8-1/4 inches) tall and is in excellent condition.
Ito Sekisui V (Yoichi) is the 14th generation of the family to follow in the pottery tradition. His father, Ito Sekisui IV, died when Yoichi was only 19. Upon completion of studies at Kyoto University in 1966, he returned to his hometown of Sado to succeed the lineage. His work was displayed for the first time at the Nihon Dento Kogeiten (National Traditional d Crafts Exhibition) in 1972. The following year he won first prize at the Nihon Togeiten (Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition). In the 1980s, Sekisui V started to create neriage (mixed clay) works as well as his family's traditional mumyoi-yaki pieces, and in 2003 he was appointed a Living National Treasure for his work in these fields.
