Today's update features the latest work by Toru Ichikawa, who studied under Ryuichi Kakizaki and made a sensational debut: the gold-leaf sake bottle, Kagutsuchi "Ra" Ki (Radiance).
It is a highly original and exceptional piece, characteristic of Ichikawa-sensei, who brings his endlessly overflowing ideas to life through clay, the ultimate material.
This is the latest in his "Ra" series, which further evolves the boiling, glaze-like texture created by the intense kairagi (crackle glaze) seen in his Kagutsuchi series, now combined with simmering gold leaf and a deeply clear indigo blue.
By changing the title from the Japanese fire deity "Kagutsuchi" to the Egyptian sun god "Ra," the series has become even more vivid and challenging.
Contrasting with the magma-like, boiling Kagutsuchi gold, this piece features a bold, poured indigo glaze;
the shimmering interplay of gold and blue is reminiscent of the golden mask of an ancient Egyptian king.
True to its "Ra" title, the piece evokes Egyptian Blue, said to be humanity's oldest pigment,
brilliantly recreating the "lapis lazuli/indigo" shade considered most sacred in ancient Egypt.
The newly crafted, wheel-thrown pear-shaped form, combined with the hues of gold and indigo, makes one feel as if a mythical fruit of the gods has been brought into reality.
The exceptionally fine-grained gold leaf of this Kagutsuchi "Ki" is brilliantly beautiful,
and the craftsmanship is incredibly intricate, with bits of platinum hidden among the gold particles.
(Toru Ichikawa / Gold-leaf Sake Bottle Kagutsuchi "Ra" Ki, with signed box)
size: diameter 12.5cm × diameter 11.8cm × height 12.8cm capacity: approx. 280cc price: Sold
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