Bizen Beer Drinker

This is a Bizen beer tumbler by Koichiro Isezaki, who was born as the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and who has brought a fresh breeze to the world of Bizen ware with his exceptional sense and masterful modeling skills. He has refined his long-standing beer tumbler design, adding an impressed pattern (uchimon) to the base and slightly constricting and deforming the foot. Rather than the previous straight, cylindrical silhouette, it now has a very slight curve that pairs well with the geometric image of the impressed pattern. The clay fires to a toasted caramel-brown, with the kiln-fired hidasuki (fire-cord) patterns appearing in a refined, apple-peel-like crimson, resulting in a wonderfully beautiful and clean hue that is perfect for tableware. Signed wooden box (shiho-san)
Dia 7.3cm x Dia 7.2cm x H 10.7cm Koichiro Isezaki was born the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki. The Isezaki family is a prestigious Bizen ware dynasty, with his grandfather being the Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki and his uncle the Intangible Cultural Property holder Mitsuru Isezaki; Koichiro himself aspired to pottery from an early age. After graduating from the sculpture department of Tokyo Zokei University in 1994, he studied abroad in the United States. He learned pottery for about two years under Jeff Shapiro, a potter based in New York City, which greatly broadened his perspective on art and ceramics. After returning to Japan in 2000, he worked diligently under the guidance of his father and his father's apprentices. He first exhibited and was selected for the Tanabe Museum of Art's Tea Ceremony Exhibition in 2002.