Handcrafted Japanese Vase Made of Bizen Ware by Toko Konishi
Sold – no longer available
This piece was handmade by Toko Konishi and was a one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.
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Details about the sold piece
- Height 19 cm
- Width 13.5 cm
- Weight 676 g
- Color Brown
- Item Type Vase
- Material Ceramics
- Period of Creation Shôwa (1926–1989)
- Style / Tradition Bizen-yaki
- Unique Work Yes
- Wooden Box Yes
No longer available
Description
Bizen-yaki is one of Japan's six ancient kilns and the only ceramics tradition that dispenses entirely with glaze – color and texture arise solely from the interplay of clay, flame, and ash during wood firing. This vase in classic teardrop form with a slender, tall neck shows exactly this effect: warm reddish-brown tones that run in fine horizontal bands across the bulging body and shift in hue from spot to spot.
The surface feels firm and grippy to the touch, almost like polished stone, and bears in several places the characteristic firing marks that are considered a mark of quality in Bizen ware. The vase carries the signature of Toko Konishi, whose calm, classical formal language underscores the restrained aesthetic of this tradition.
Delivered in a wooden box signed by the master potter, this piece from the Shōwa period combines rustic earthiness with sculptural elegance. Whether placed as a flower vase or as a standalone object, its warm, natural coloring lends it a particularly inviting presence.
