Black Raku tea bowl (hikidashi-guro)

This is a Hikidashi-guro (pulled-black) tea bowl by Masao Akitani, an artist who studied under Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and creates works brimming with a unique originality amidst a fresh spirit. The bowl is captivating for its dynamic form, which looks as though it were carved directly from a sphere. It has a substantial weight befitting its large size, and coupled with the obsidian-like natural glaze, it is so striking that one might mistake it for a meteorite rather than an artificial object. True to its meteoric appearance, the interior holds a cosmos of black and silver, creating a magnificent contrast with the jewel-like sections where the natural glaze has solidified. Signed wooden box to be provided at a later date (please allow some time for shipping).
Diameter 13.5cm x Diameter 12.4cm x Height 11.6cm Masao Akitani was born in Saitama in 1968. He studied under Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki starting in 1998, and after ten years of training, he built his kiln in Bizen and became independent in 2008. He held his first kiln firing in 2009. His work has been selected for the Tanabe Museum of Art "Tea Ceremony Form" exhibition and the Japan Kōgei Association Chugoku Branch exhibition, and he has received awards including the Okayama Prefectural Art Exhibition Prize and Encouragement Award.