Kuroshuten

This is a black sake cup by Koichiro Isezaki, who was born the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and who breathes new life into the world of Bizen ware with his exceptional sense and masterful sculpting ability. While leveraging the characteristics of Bizen ware as an earthen material, he skillfully incorporates essences from his roots, such as wood carving, to create unique pieces that are instantly recognizable as his own. In this work as well, the interior clay was scraped out with a spatula to finish the vessel, creating a beautiful silhouette as a sphere that would be impossible to achieve with wheel-throwing alone, and the wrinkles in the clay left from the scraping process serve as an accent. It features the deep, glossy, smooth black that is synonymous with the Isezaki school, and the inorganic, cool beauty of the black harmonizes perfectly with the natural beauty of the yellow "goma" (sesame) glaze characteristic of Bizen, giving the piece a sophisticated, art-like atmosphere. The yellow goma areas react with the black slip, causing the base of the sesame glaze to undergo kiln transformation into a cobalt blue, ensuring you can enjoy the changes that come with use, just as is expected of Bizen ware. Signed wooden box (shiho-san) included
Diameter 7.3cm x Diameter 6.9cm x Height 5.6cm Koichiro Isezaki was born the eldest son of Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki. The Isezaki family is a prestigious line of Bizen potters; his grandfather was the Intangible Cultural Property holder Yozan Isezaki, and his uncle was the Intangible Cultural Property holder Mitsuru Isezaki, and Koichiro himself aspired to pottery from an early age. After graduating from the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo Zokei University in 1994, he studied abroad in the United States. He studied pottery for about two years under Jeff Shapiro, a potter based in New York City, which greatly broadened his perspective on art and pottery. After returning to Japan in 2000, he trained under his father and his father's disciples. In 2002, he submitted a piece to the Tanabe Museum of Art's Tea Ceremony Exhibition for the first time and was selected.