Unusual Shinogi Lidded Vase ー新 学 "伊賀 鎬水注花器"

This vase is created in the form of a water server complete with removable lid and pouring spout by Atarashi Manabu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Iga Shinogi Sui-Chu Kaki.  Shinogi is this method of cutting away portions of the surface, in this case in sweeping patterns like the arcing stroke of a Katana.  This both allows the natural ash glaze a foot hold as it blows through the kiln, and as it cools, allows the molten ash to flow and create striking patterns on the surface. It is 16 × 13 × 21 cm (5-3/4 x 5 x 8-1/4 inches) and in new condition, directly from the artist.

Atarashi Manabu has been growing in popularity as one of the leaders in the Iga pottery tradition since the first time I saw his work nearly 20 years ago when visiting the family showroom in Iga village.  Born in 1973 in Osaka son of the second generation artist and one of the leading revivalists of the Iga tradition in post war Japan, Atarashi Kanji.  He graduated the literature department of Kansai University in 1995, moving to apprentice under his father a few years later.  In 2002 he built his first anagama Kiln, and held his first of a multitude of solo exhibitions.  Intensely fired multiple times to achieve the bidoro glass puddles and landscape effects which define his aesthetic, the geometric works add a contemporary sensibility to the traditional Iga style and transcend the realm of utilitarian crafts breaking into the sculptural domain.  His work has proven innovative and challenging to the norm, taking his fathers tradition into the 21st century.