Bizen Ne Okimono

This is a Bizen ware zodiac rat ornament created by the late master Matsui Koyo, who also dedicated himself to training the next generation as an instructor at the pottery center. It features a classic Bizen design with a cute rat perched atop a "lucky mallet" (uchide no kozuchi). Master Matsui’s signature meticulous craftsmanship brings the patterns on the mallet and the expression and tail of the rat to life with vivid realism. The crisp, yellowish-sesame (ki-goma) coloration characteristic of his work is the perfect complement to such finely detailed craftsmanship. Signed wooden box (double-slat lid)
Diameter 18.7cm × 10.2cm × Height 12.3cm Master Matsui Koyo entered the National Kyoto Ceramics Research Institute in 1949 to study all aspects of pottery. After working for five years at the Kumamoto Prefectural Industrial Research Institute, he returned to Kyoto to study under the Kiyomizu-yaki potter and Nitten juror, Morino Kako. During his training in 1960, he was invited by then-Okayama Governor Yukiharu Miki to join the Okayama Prefectural Industrial Research Institute's ceramics guidance center. He devoted his efforts to nurturing young artists before resigning as director to become an independent potter in 1978.
His firing techniques are based on natural ash glazes and shiso-red hues. Drawing on his experience as a Kyo-yaki artist, he also created vibrant Bizen ware using unique techniques such as "neriage" (kneading two types of clay together), as well as gold, silver, and indigo decorative accents.
1969: Full member of the Japan Kōgei Association. 1996: Designated as a Preserver of Okayama Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property. 1997: Exhibited at the Bizen Ware Paris Exhibition. Awards: Recipient of the Kaneshige Toyo Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Award, and many others / Prefectural Exhibition Juror.