Bizen sake bottle

This is a Bizen sake bottle by the late Mitsuru Isezaki, a leading figure in Ibe pottery. The piece exhibits the fine ash glaze and scarlet coloration characteristic of the Isezaki school. Its "kabu-gata" (turnip-shaped) form, characterized by a rounded lower body, is paired with a well-defined rim, creating a very refined impression. The surface, which promises to change significantly with use, is also wonderful. Signed wooden box (with two-way cross-bar lid)
Rim diameter 3.8cm × body diameter 9.3cm × body diameter 9.1cm × height 12.2cm; Capacity: 300cc Mitsuru Isezaki was born in 1934 as the eldest son of Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki. He learned pottery techniques from his father from a young age and later majored in sculpture at the Okayama University Special Art Course. As an authentic practitioner of tea ceramics, he pursued Momoyama-style forms, clay quality, and firing techniques. He distinguished between the use of climbing kilns and medieval-style anagama kilns depending on the work, insisting on pine-wood firing rather than electric or gas kilns. He became a full member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Toyo Kaneshige Award in 1974. In 1994, he received the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Merit Award, and in 1998, the 15th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize. In March of the same year, he was designated as a Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property holder. He passed away in August 2011 at the age of 77.
Awards: Recipient of numerous honors, including the Toyo Kaneshige Award, Okayama Prefectural Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Culture Merit Award, and the Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Form Exhibition; served as an invitee to the Prefectural Exhibition.