Tsubo / Tamba / Ichino Masahiko
Large Tamba Tsubo by Ichino Masahiko
On the cover of the Japan Ceramic Art Exhibtion's 1995 catalog is a work by Ichino Masahiko (1961-); it won the grand prix that year. Ichino is the second son of Tamba veteran Ichino Shinsui and studied in Kyoto with Imai Masayuki. He has already won accolades for his zogan colored wares and that style won the JCA award. He's been featured on the NHK pottery program Yakimono Tambo. Tamba is one of the so-called 'six ancient kilns' of Japan and has a long history of high-fired unglazed works. Such is the stunning large tsubo you see here. It has a full oval form with a magnificent natural ash glaze streaking down the front in brown rivulets; it was placed right in front of the firing box. The ash fused and melted over the shiso-iro (purple) colored body; extraordinary. The back has flecks of natural ash glaze but mostly retains its tsuchi-aji clay flavor. It has a slightly everted rim. I spoke with Ichino and he told me this work dates back about eight years and is quite rare. In perfect condition with a signed box, 32.0cm.tall and 29.0cm.wide.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
