Ibe Shuten

This Bizen sake cup is the work of the late master Mitsuru Isezaki, a man who loved Bizen ware and contributed greatly to the region. It is an orthodox piece that eschews artifice, revealing the artist's total faith in the inherent appeal of Bizen ware itself. The reddish-purple earthiness that appears here and there conveys the profound and subtle beauty characteristic of Bizen. The understated charm of the "goma" (sesame glaze) and "sangiri" (gray-black kiln transformation) finishes is also wonderful. Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Diameter 6.9cm x Diameter 6.7cm x Height 6.1cm Born in 1934 as the eldest son of Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, Mitsuru Isezaki learned pottery techniques from his father from an early age and majored in sculpture at the Okayama University Special Art Course. As an authentic tea ceramicist, he pursued Momoyama-style forms, clay textures, and firing techniques. He distinguished between the use of climbing kilns and medieval anagama kilns depending on the piece, and insisted on firing with pine wood 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 that same year, he was certified as a Prefectural Designated Important Intangible Cultural Property holder. He passed away in August 2011 at the age of 77.
Awards: Toyo Kaneshige Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Art and Culture Merit Award, Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Sculpture Exhibition, and many others / Prefectural Exhibition Guest Artist