Very Unusual Tenmoku Chawan ー木村 盛康 "天目釉 茶碗"
Very Unusual Tenmoku Chawan ー木村 盛康 "天目釉 茶碗"
What kind of geological process formed this madly opalized chawan by Kimura Moriyasu? Can he lay claim to this entirely or did god have a hand? The texture is amazing, as is the coloration, the entire glimmering like a metallic rainbow. It is 12.5 cm (5 inches) diameter, 10 cm (4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Born into the Kimura family in Kyoto in 1935 the youngest of four children, it was only natural for Moriyasu to move into ceramics, following and training under his brother Morikazu and learning decorating techniques from his father. It was in 1959 (at the age of 24) when Moriyasu gained National attention as he was selected as one of the participants at the Modern Ceramics of Japan exhibition at the National Museum of Art. Into the 60s he began exhibition with the Nihon Dento Kogeiten National Traditional Crafts Exhibition. It was when viewing a National Treasure Tsubo in the Atake collection that he was moved to express himself solely through the perfection of Tenmoku oil spot glazes. He is held in several important public collections, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas and Houston Museums, Peabody Essex Museum, National Palace Museum Taiwan, as well as the collection of Ise Shrine.