Ibe Tokkuri

This Ibe-style sake bottle (tokkuri) is the work of Mitsuru Isezaki, a master craftsman who loved Bizen ware and made significant contributions to Bizen pottery. True to his reputation for insisting on high-quality rice-field clay out of a belief that the essence of Bizen lies in the quality of the earth, this piece appears very simple at first glance. However, take a closer look and you will discover rich shiso-red and orange hues, further refined by a delicate golden glaze that polishes the magnificent earthen texture to an even higher level. Furthermore, like a subtle hidden ingredient in a fine dish, a faint wash of clay has been applied to the surface, creating a gentle glow that adds even greater depth to the superb quality of the earth. It is a sake bottle packed with the master’s boundless passion for clay, hidden within what seems to be an effortless, natural aesthetic. Includes signed paulownia box (shiho-zan).
Rim diameter 4.0cm x Body diameter 9.8cm x Body diameter 9.7cm x Height 10.5cm. Capacity: 310cc Born in 1934 as the eldest son of Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, Mitsuru Isezaki learned pottery techniques from his father from a young age and later majored in sculpture at Okayama University. A true master of tea ceramics, he pursued the aesthetics, earthen qualities, and firing techniques of the Momoyama period. He distinguished between the use of climbing kilns and medieval-style tunnel kilns depending on the piece, eschewing electric or gas kilns in favor of firing with pine wood. He became a regular member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1964 and received the Kaneshige Toyo Award in 1974. He was awarded the Sanyo Shimbun Cultural Achievement Award in 1994 and the 15th Tanabe Museum of Art Grand Prize in 1998. In March of that same year, he was designated a holder of an Okayama Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property. He passed away in August 2011 at the age of 77.
Awards: Recipient of the Kaneshige Toyo Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, Okayama Nichinichi Shimbun Arts and Culture Merit Award, Grand Prize at the Tea Ceremony Form Exhibition, and many others / Invited artist to the Prefectural Exhibition.