Bizen ware sake bottle vase

This Bizen tokkuri (sake bottle) vase is an earlier work by the Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki, an artist who has consistently led the world of Bizen ware with an inexhaustible creative power. It is accompanied by a ceramic biography dating from around 1996, indicating it was produced during that period. Created before Sensei was designated a holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property by Okayama Prefecture, the piece is based on a bright, refreshing white clay with low iron content, featuring the *goma* (ash glaze) and *hidasuki* (fire-cord) markings characteristic of his style. Straw was placed over the neck of the tall, cup-shaped vessel, and the interplay of the fire resulted in a clear distinction between the white clay and the caramel-brown body. The straw wrapped around the neck became *hidasuki*, while the parts that extended beyond the covering mixed with the flying ash to transform into lightning-like *ito-goma* (thread-like ash markings). Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Diameter 15.7cm x Diameter 15.6cm x Height 27.3cm Jun Isezaki was born the second son of Yozan Isezaki, a master of fine ceramic crafts. He began learning pottery in his youth and embarked on his professional career after graduating from the Special Fine Arts Course at Okayama University in 1959. His body of work is vast, spanning traditional pieces such as vases, plates, and tea ceremony utensils, as well as ceramic walls and objects. He places great importance on both forming and firing, characterized by a style brimming with a contemporary sensibility that leverages the unique features of his materials and kilns (anagama, climbing kilns, and electric kilns). He is also widely recognized as a leading relief artist. He became a regular member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1966 and served as a special lecturer in fine arts at Okayama University for nine years starting in 1978. In 1998, he and his brother, Mitsuru, were simultaneously designated as holders of Okayama Prefecture’s Important Intangible Cultural Property, and he served as the Secretary-General of the Chugoku branch of the Japan Kōgei Association that same year. He was designated a holder of a nationally recognized Important Intangible Cultural Property in July 2004.
Awards and honors: Recipient of the Kaneshige Toyo Award, the Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, the Sanyo Shimbun Award, and the Excellence Award at the Chanoyu Modeling Exhibition, among many others; served as a judge for the prefectural exhibition.