Ceramic and urushi lacquer
2026
Wheel-thrown ceramic, white slip, Geppaku glaze made from rice-straw ash, poured over the form, fired in a traditional noborigama climbing kiln using split pine wood, shin-nuri black urushi lacquer and shu-nuri red urushi lacquer by Nishimura Keikō
7,6 x 12,1 x 11,2 cm (2.99 x 4.76 x 4.41 in)
Unique collaborative piece. Accompanied by a tomobako (custom wooden box), inscribed by Matsubayashi Hosai XVI, with Nishimura Keikō’s signature and seal on the box
Hosai XVI’s signature poured-Geppaku-glaze chawan is finished in urushi by lacquer artist Nishimura Keikō, creating layers of contrasting materials and textures: clay, glaze and lacquer. Conceived with a strong awareness of the chawan as an artwork to be held and experienced through touch, the collaboration explores contemporary expression and the possibilities of craft through this material layering. The black lacquer and red shu-nuri bring a distinctive warmth not found in Hosai’s other works to the pale blue and white world of the Geppaku glaze.
Born in 1980 in Uji, Kyoto, Japan, ceramicist Matsubayashi Hosai XVI comes from a family with over 400 years of […]
