Hello everyone, how are you doing?
For our fifth update today, we are featuring a gong-shaped bowl (dorabachi) by Jun Isezaki.
As you know, he was the fifth person designated as a Living National Treasure for Bizen ware,
and he brought a breath of fresh air to the Bizen pottery world with his anagama kiln firing and innovative style.
This piece was created about 20 years ago, before he was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture.
When one hears "gong-shaped bowl," the famous Yellow Seto (Kizeto) variety often comes to mind,
which typically features floral patterns on the base.
In this piece, the artist leverages the unique characteristics of Bizen ware—sesame glaze (goma), rice cake marks (botamochi), and fire-cord markings (hidasuki)—
carefully composing them like a painting by combining colors, circles, and lines.
If you look closely, within the round gong-shaped bowl, you can see three triangular motifs arranged in a circle,
and doesn't a triangle drawn in red lines seem to emerge further in the depths?
It is a vessel where you can sense the budding of his unique design sense, reminiscent of geometric patterns, and the characteristic use of botamochi seen in his latest works.
At first glance, it looks like a common Bizen bowl pattern, but upon closer inspection, there is a clear regularity.
It possesses a refined quality that is distinct from the intensely red tones of his recent anagama-fired works.
(Jun Isezaki / Bizen Bowl size: 25.2cm dia. x 25.1cm dia. x 6.4cm height ¥76,000)
For detailed images and other inquiries, please contact us below.
Tel 0869-67-2210 Fax 0869-67-2220
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