A set of bold deep guinomi in pin-holed white glaze streaked with iron accompanied by a proud spouted vessel in tri-colored glaze by Murakoshi Takume enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Shunju Shuki Soroi. The cups are thick and relatively smooth inside, deeply scored by the artist fingers outside making them a pleasure to hold. The Katakuchi pouring vessel is covered in crystalline kunugi ash and swatches of iron under thick white glaze with shell impressions where it rested on its side in the kiln, and emerald gems dripping off the side. It is 15 x 10 x 10 cm (6 x 4 x 4 inches) and the cups are roughly 7.5 cm (3 inches) diameter, 8.5 cm tall and all is 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.
