Potter: Ryuji Matsuno

Approximate size Incense burner: W 3.5″ by H 3.0″ or 9.0 by 10.0 cm
Approximate size Vase: W 4.3″ by H 5.1″ or 11.0 by 13.0 cm

This cute pair consisting of an incense burner (koro), and a vase were made by internationally recognized Hagi potter Ryuji Matsuno. Born in Hagi in 1951 he established a kiln called Ryokuei-gama in 1974. He sadly passed in 2005. He was a true artist whose works include many large abstract and sculptural pieces. Nowadays his son Sohei Matsuno manages the kiln.

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.

Matsuno Ryuji (1954-2005), specialized in a number of styles of Hagi and also pursued the field of abstract, sculptural ceramics which he created as modern Hagi pieces at his studio and kiln, the Ryokuei-gama which he founded in 1974. These items are not only a typical example of his work in which he showed great skill at navigating within the this tradition but also trying to infuse his work with his personal vision to carry out a meaningful dialogue between the past and present of Hagi yaki.

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.

But why this potter is remembered fondly and what success he enjoyed comes mainly from the following. He won for the first time at the Nitten in 1979 and in the years after an impressive 5 more times! He also claimed prizes at the Nihon Gendai Kougei Bijyutu exhibition.

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.

The pair, signed by the potter have no chips or cracks and remain in excellent condition. The vase comes with the exclusive quality paulownia tomobako with kiln stamp and calligraphy on the lid.

€350 295 + shipping cost

The incense burner has been used years ago and carries a slight fragrance of agarswood (also known as aloeswood or eaglewood which is a fragrant wood used in incense).