sabi

I've been "collecting" on and off for ten years - currently have four, the most at one time was probably eight or so.

Up for another look.

This is an absolutely fantastic water jar by one of the most talented western potters to take up the style. This piece in particular is very special having been made of Shigaraki clay, fired once in Japan for six days and again for three days when it returned to the US. Meg has been a pillar of the Women who Woodfire movement and has a natural gift for the process. Her bold forms and surfaces provide the ideal canvas for the natural molten ash glazes and have a beautifully unassuming and natural quality to them. For more info on her work, see: https://www.megbeaudoinceramics.com/ https://www.cavinmor...udoin-and-mike-weber https://ceramicartsn...ychology-to-Ceramics This jar is in perfect condition and measures 5" x 6.25". Like most western works, this does not come with a box and at some point that becomes a good thing, God knows I'm running out of room for them! I've been friends with Meg for a few years and got this piece for a steal as a result. I'm paying that forward here and dropping it even further at $200 shipped to the USA, international buyers please contact me for a quote. Please let me know if you have any questions, thanks for looking!

Sold pending funds.

I was thinking it might be 😉, at this point even the box would run a significant portion of the total price 😂. And I forgot to mention, payments could be divided into two installments if needed. I recently completed a sale with a buyer here using this method and it worked out well for both parties.

Final drop Black Friday sale on this one - $780 shipped USA / $810 international. This is valid through the weekend after which the tsuba will be withdrawn. I challenge you to find any Owari tsuba for sale at this level, let alone for this cheap. Someone is going to get a fantastic guard for a steal. Happy Thanksgiving!

Drop to $850 USA, $880 international 🙏👺

Pic of the ura, please let me know if you need additional images.

I'm already sure I'll regret this, but a major piece has come up in another hobby and I can't keep them all. As those who study and appreciate old iron know, Owari tsuba at this level don't surface often and this is a fantastic opportunity for one of our members to become its next caretaker. This tsuba compasses everything that is excellent about Owari guards. The motif is a strikingly bold and direct Matsukawabishi that has a beautifully martial feel. Not too heavy or clumsy, the amount of air in the design is just right. Measures 7.8cm round and 6.2mm thick, which is even across the plate. In my opinion, superior Owari tsuba tend to be those that are not dished towards the seppa dai and this one is no exception. Condition is perfect and it retains its original form, not having been shaved for a kozuka or kogai at any point. A custom box was lovingly made for it and is of course included. The former owner had placed it in late Muromachi, and another esteemed member here who has studied it thinks the same. I tend to lean towards early Momoyama given the design, but certainly splitting hairs either way - no doubt a pre-Edo example and one that coveys the aesthetic so highly prized by the bushi of the period. I was sure I had pics of the reverse side only to find out I didn't after it had already gotten dark. Will update the thread tomorrow accordingly. $930 shipped to the USA, $960 international. Payment to be made via PayPal F&F only. Thanks for looking!

Good afternoon NMB, I'm not exactly sure what this is, I got it from Grey years ago and he wasn't quite sure either. The assumption is that it's a tobacco pouch ornament but he thought it was maybe too nice for that and could be a menuki. Either way it's very well made and of a rare subject matter. Measures 1" long by half an inch tall. $65 shipped to the USA, $85 Worldwide. Thanks for looking!

Friday is a good day for some eye candy - I've been editing some pics of a recent acquisition while trying to whittle away what's left of the work week and figured I'd share them here. Ko-Bizen Mizusashi, 19 x 12.5cm, Momoyama period - late 16th/early 17th C. A tour de force of both the style and vessel type, this piece radiates the beauty of imperfect forms and natural textures that was prized during the period. 👺🙏🔥

Up for another look, drop to $150 USA/$170 worldwide.

SOLD

Good afternoon NMB, Unable to make the SF show but still want a new old iron toy? This is the spot! On offer today is an absolutely fabulous tsuba and a prime example of the style. This guard is papered to Tosho by the NBTHK which I completely agree with as I believe it falls into the Momoyama bucket. The slight sway of the gourd sukashi is a bit too artistic for Ko I think, but still undoubtedly a pre-Edo example that sports many lacquer remnants and has the dimensions to support this time frame as well. This is a large tsuba that measures 8.8cm round, 0.3cm at the seppa dai that tapers to 0.2cm at the rim. It shows its age beautifully with dignified surface wear that is desired of the style and a pronounced seppa zuri. Against all odds it has remained ubu throughout the cenuries and is adorned with a single udenuki ana that harkens back to its utilitarian origin. It comes complete with a very nice box as shown. A top example of the style that would be a one piece collection and right at home with other quality iron guards. Asking $1300 shipped to the USA, $1350 international. Payment to be made by PayPal F&F. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional pics. Thanks for looking! 👺🙏

OK I lied, ONE more (isn't it always?). Shiro-Raku chawan by the great master Sugimoto Sadamitsu. A Koetsu form teabowl by this aritst has been on my list for quite a while, and as I reflect over its first bowl of tea in my hands, it's clear that the journey was well worth it.

Open to reasonable offers on this piece, would also consider selling the pendant alone if you don't need the chain.

Good afternoon NMB! Up for grabs today is a phenomenal piece of metal work that I think will resonate with many of our members. I commissioned this custom piece from Manuel last year, but have since transferred to a full time work from home environment and rarely have the opportunity to wear it anymore. As such I'm passing it along to its next caretaker who will hopefully give it more fresh air. This was of course inspired by the distinct rendering of pine trees in Japanese art (a favorite motif of mine), and specifically tsuba. This is also why iron was chosen, along with it providing a striking contrast to the silver chain. It also will continue to patina and improve with age as you'd expect. A screenshot from Manuel's social media account is below for provenance. This pendant measures 1" wide and 3/4" tall, the chain is a high quality Italian sterling rounded box link and measures 20" long. A nice size all around for everyday wear that isn't too heavy or flashy. Asking $180 to the USA, $200 worldwide. Payment to be made by PayPal F&F. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional pics. Thanks for looking! 🙏🌲

Thanks Brian! I hope that doing so might inspire others to pursue this highly rewarding avenue of collecting. I was first introduced to it as an offshoot of tsuba studying, and there's a lot of overlap that I think applies to a wide range of tastes.

It feels like it's been forever since I've posted any sort of ceramics update in here when I did so frequently in the past. I've just about whittled my tea bowls down to forever pieces and thought it was a good time to do so. These three represent a step up for me, much like when I purchased my first Nidai Yamakichibei years ago. I must have eyed over a thousand black Oribe tea bowls before finding one I was willing to make the jump for. Made by an anonymous potter of the past, this chawan was thrown with the utmost confidence resulting in a beautifully organic form that somehow manages to avoid any clumsiness. It's big and certainly a handful, but not heavy, just perfectly settled. The glaze ranges from jet black with inky blue reflections to an ash-like smattering, a result of the cooling rate when this piece was pulled from the kiln. An absolute tour de force of the style, pure strength. The next is of a similar form but executed in a vastly different manner. Technically a "found object" for me - a Kiseto piece by the renound master of the style, Ikenishi Go, this bowl was made as a humble hachi, tableware. A work by this artist has long been on my radar, but chawan of his are prohibitively expensive. A mere hachi on the other hand, is fairly reasonable. Thinking it would function beautifully as a tea bowl, I went for it and was rewarded for the slightly out of the box idea. While not nearly as much of a stretch as Rikyu repurposing the utilitarian wares of Bizen and Iga/Shiga for tea ceremony vessels, I'm proud to have used the concept to acquire something for this purpose that would've normally been far out of reach, but functions all the same. Lastly, while I had become very familiar with why "Ichi Raku" is a saying, I had zero experience with the runner up, "ni Hagi". Having been extremely traditional until the mid-20th century or so, a few contemporary potters have breathed new life into the style while remaining true to its history. One of them is Masanao Kaneta, or the 8th generation Sanzaemon. A sculptor in his heart vs a thrower, he made the daring decision to use the kurinuki method to construct his wares - a solid block of clay is scooped and carved out until the final form is reached. It feels different when you pick it up, which is entirely a compliment, similar to why handbuilt Raku bowls seem to fuse to your hands. While those are generally light and airy, this is solid, weighty. Its heft acting like a magnet which is exquisitely complimented by the smooth and thick "Oni Hagi" glazing style. While the base glaze is traditional white, the artist also manages to get ethereal color flashing of pink and lavender hues from what I can only assume is some form of noborigama witchcraft. On this piece, the combination of the two produces a landscape that leaves this usually wordy collector speechless. The best way I can describe it is like a summer thunderstorm, a wall of mist being highlighted by the backdrop sunny skies off in the distance.

Nice one, M! Congrats to the buyer. Here's a Nidai Yamakichibei with the same motif.

Up for another look 🍶

One and only drop to $80 USA / $100 Worldwide to try and find this one a new home!