Ceramic - Eiraku Myozen - Japan - 1900

Rare and precious ceremony sweet bowl for the tea ceremony (Kashiki / 菓子器) in Hakeme style (刷毛目) crafted by Eiraku Myozen (永楽妙全, 1852–1927), fourteenth generation of the renowned Eiraku ceramic dynasty, among the historic Senke Jissoku families officially supplying the tea masters.

The Eiraku dynasty is universally celebrated in the history of Japanese art for its sumptuous and elaborate works decorated with polychrome enamels, vivid glazes, and refined Kinrande gilding. In this context, the piece reveals itself as exceptional: it is a cultivated and intimate Utsushi (写し) — the technical Japanese term for a refined and reverent homage to the great austere tradition of primitive tea ceramics. Rather than the family workshop’s decorative splendor, Myozen engages here with a language that is purely rustic, sober, and essential, giving rise to a piece probably born from a special commission directly from the Iemoto (the Great Masters and heads of the tea schools) of the Senke houses for the most private and intimate ceremonies.

The work is distinguished by intense material mastery and by white engobe painting applied with swift brushstrokes on dark earth: the Hakeme gesture is not mere decoration but an intentionally natural and spontaneous act that expresses the beauty of imperfection and perfectly reflects Zen philosophy and the Wabi-sabi aesthetic. At the base, the clay bears the master’s original seal, partially and elegantly veiled by the glaze-covered firing mark, a typical and authentic manufacturing feature of the period.

What makes the piece even more extraordinary is the history of its author: after her husband Tokuzen’s death in 1909, Eiraku Myozen (1852–1927) bravely took the helm of the family workshop, guiding production until 1927. She is a historically revolutionary figure: the only woman in all of Japan at the time to lead one of the prestigious Senke Jissoku laboratories, a role traditionally reserved for men. In this twenty-year period of female leadership, her artistic skill and sensibility propelled the Eiraku shop to very high levels of collectible and scholarly regard.

To guarantee complete authenticity and invaluable collectible value, the piece comes with its Tomobako (original period wooden box), signed by the master with the corresponding ink-stamp imprints. The box, entirely original to the Late Meiji / Taisho period, retains a magnificent patina with the natural darkening of the wood fully consistent with its age. The history of this pair is extraordinary: upon the death of her husband Tokuzen (13th head of the Eiraku family), Myozen boldly took control of the prestigious family workshop and guided it with masterful skill for over twenty years. During her career, her production evolved through clearly defined stylistic phases, meticulously cataloged by the Kyoto National Museum’s scientific study (Kyoto National Museum Bulletin No. 19 - Research on Eiraku Workshop Seals and Signatures, available for reference at the link: https://www.kyohaku.go.jp/jp/learn/assets/publications/knm-bulletin/19/019_ronbun_b.pdf).

The calligraphy on the present box belongs to the artist’s mature period, classified as Script V characterized by her fluent and confident stroke signing \