Japanese Ceramic Art: Vintage Porcelain Dragon Figurine and Satsuma Vases

Japanese Ceramic Art: Vintage Porcelain Dragon Figurine and Satsuma Vases

Vintage Porcelain Dragon Figurine by Futamura Yoshimi

Pair of Japanese Satsuma porcelain vases with dragons and landscapes. 18th Century.

Each of Japan’s 47 prefectures produced their own type of ceramics using local materials. Some of the most famous are Imari ware, Seto ware and Mino ware.

Futamura Yoshimi is a female ceramicist who explores the concept of wabi-sabi (imperfect beauty). Her pieces are torn, ragged and creased, speckled with crushed or pressed granules.

Origin

In the absence of imperial patronage the Jingdezhen kilns began to look for new markets. They produced porcelain for the Japanese market called ko-sometsuke (‘old blue and white’) that was made to suit the tea ceremony.

Tokuda has revived urushimaki, the technique where ceramics are painted with lacquer. The lacquer acts as a glue to hold the powder colour.

It was a highly successful venture and the company produced semi-porcelain, jardinieres and specialities. The mark was a spread eagle over the company monogram and name of the pattern. It is a well-known and sought after form of Japanese ware. The company lasted until 1963. During its long life they made some of the most artistic ware ever produced in America. A cream pitcher of theirs is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Styles

Vintage Porcelain Dragon Sculpture Figurine

This rare porcelain piece of art is handmade in Japan. It represents Chinese culture and makes for a special addition to any collection.

Until the mid-17th century, Arita porcelain was only available for export, but when local lords set up private kilns for domestic use, many new styles were created. Nabeshima ware, for example, used mainly Japanese decorations rather than the Chinese ones typical of Arita. Hirado ware, on the other hand, was reserved for presentation gifts to the elite.

Futamura Yoshimi creates sculptural forms inspired by burls of wood and fungi, but she also uses the natural effects caused by the kiln. Her pieces are ripped and torn, with edges that curl inward and surfaces covered with coarse dust of crushed pre-fired porcelain that expands and contracts as the clay is fired.

Materials

Futamura Yoshimi hand-builds her sculptural forms, tearing the clay to create ragged edges and patting a coarse dust of crushed porcelain on the surface before firing. As the clay expands and contracts in the kiln the coarse dust fractures, creating fissures in the surface of her work. Her inspiration comes from burls of wood and fungi, natural phenomena she observes in the world around her.

The porcelain she uses is biscuit porcelain, a high fire stoneware body with a high silica content similar to Parian ware. You can find recipes for yoshimi k on Glazy and Alfred’s grinding room.

Glazes

When kaolin clay is fired to maturity, it becomes hard, vitrified, and non-absorbent. It also develops a body-glaze layer which is a distinguishing feature of high-fire stoneware, making it dense and durable compared to low-fire and mid-range ceramics.

During the Imjin War, feudal lords brought back potters from Korea to Japan, which resulted in a variety of pottery styles. One of these is Hasami ware () developed in the area around the town of Hasami in Nagasaki prefecture.

Another is Kasama ware () made with fine-grained ball clay called gairome nendo. It is resistant to dirt and can be decorated with dripping or overlaying glaze. It is used for household items such as flower vases and bottles. In the past, satsuma glazed porcelain was a famous export.

Artists

Futamura Yoshimi uses a blend of stoneware clay and pre-fired porcelain to form evocative, geologic or botanically inspired sculptural forms. She hand-builds her pieces, often tearing the clay to create ragged edges. She also pats coarse dust of crushed porcelain on the surface before firing, creating fissures as the clay expands and contracts in the kiln. She describes her approach as one of wabi sabi, the Japanese concept of imperfect and incomplete beauty.

The evocative, biomorphic shapes of her work are enhanced by natural kiln effects on the surfaces. The appearance of burnt, crushed, creased or charred clay can give her work a sense of meditative, spiritual energy. She works to capture the essence of the materials and the nuances of the kiln process in her finished pieces.

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