Potter: Kamei Masaru

Approximate size: W4.9″ by 4.7 by H2.8″ or 12.5 by 12.0 by 7.2cm

This is a unique chawan by famed Nitten exhibition potter Masaru Kamei (1933-). Masaru Kamei is a potter working in the Seto style. This tea bowl is exceptionally well designed, from the glaze, interior and koudai -foot ring.

After the end of the Pacific war the attribute Imperial was no longer trendy. Everything was reorganized and renamed. In 1946 the Imperial Art Academy became The Japan Fine Arts Exhibition, abbreviated as Nitten. The Nitten has developed into a large organization. Today the Nitten has five art faculties, Japanese Style Painting, Western Style Painting, Sculpture, Craft as Art and Calligraphy.

Masaru Kamei won the Blue-ribbon award at the great Nitten Exhibition in 1974 and in 1976. This is the highest award for potters entering this famously career-making competition.

This glaze is unique, being a E-Shino feldspar based glaze with decorations in white (abstractly simplified trees? Splashes of water going up?), it has the signature and partly the texture of the ancient irabo style tea bowls.

In a nutshell, Bunten and Teiten were official, state-controlled, juried art exhibitions. Nitten replaced them after the war. The meaning of these official exhibition societies for the world of Japanese arts was pretty comparable to the French Salon in the second half of the nineteenth century. The conservative Salon was the institution most hated by the French impressionists – their works were regularly rejected by the jury. And without a representation by the Salon, an artist had hardly any chance to sell anything to private collectors.

The chawan has no chips or cracks and is in excellent condition. Comes with the original quality paulownia wooden box with kiln stamp and calligraphy on the lid. Also comes with an informational pamphlet about the potter.

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SOLD

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As a side note; this has long been a personal favorite. The glaze, unique carved form and delicately created koudai makes this bowl quite special.

The Japanese term for it, setomono, is also used as a generic term for all pottery. Seto was the location of one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan.