Vase - Ceramic - Japan - Sodeisha Sculptural Form

Item Description

This sculptural green-glazed vase is by 熊倉順吉 Kumakura Junkichi (1920-1985), a leading member of the Sodeisha avant-garde ceramics group. The asymmetrical body is full and rounded, with a large scooped hollow on one side. A slender neck rises off-centre from the shoulder to a narrow mouth. The form reads almost as a small abstract figure, and it changes noticeably as you turn it.

The glaze is a mottled green with pale, speckled areas and darker brown flecks. Deeper blue-green runs trail down from the neck across the body. The foot is left unglazed, showing warm reddish-orange clay at the edge, and a small glazed recess is visible in the centre of the base. An impressed seal can be seen at the edge of the foot. Photographs show the piece from all sides, including the base and the seal.

Works of this kind — organic, biomorphic forms built by hand rather than thrown — belong to the body of work for which Kumakura is best known internationally. A closely related piece, Birth (1975), is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Artist Profile

Kumakura Junkichi (熊倉順吉, 1920-1985) was born in Kyoto and is recognised as a major figure in Japanese sculptural ceramics. He studied architecture before graduating in 1942 from the Kyoto Higher School of Arts and Crafts (now Kyoto Institute of Technology), and turned to ceramics after the war. In 1946 he entered the Shōsai pottery in Kyoto as a pupil of Fukuda Rikisaburō, where he also studied under Tomimoto Kenkichi, later designated a Living National Treasure.

In 1955 he received the first Japan Ceramic Society Prize. He joined the Kyoto-based avant-garde ceramics group Sodeisha in 1957, becoming a full member alongside Yagi Kazuo. He won the Grand Prize at the 1958 Brussels World Exposition, and in 1962 his work Solidifying Flame received the Silver Prize at the Prague International Ceramic Exhibition.

From 1959 to 1980 he served as technical adviser to the Shiga Prefectural Shigaraki Ceramic Research Institute, directing design work in Shigaraki ware. He taught at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, the Tajimi City Ceramic Design Research Institute and Kyoto City University of Arts.

His work is held in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the National Crafts Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, and the Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, which holds a collection of approximately 170 of his works.

Size
Height: 24 cm
Width: 18 cm
Depth: 15 cm

Weight
1,558 g

Condition
No noticeable damage or stains are visible. Because of the uneven foot, the piece wobbles slightly when set on a flat surface.

Additional Information
Maker: Kumakura Junkichi (熊倉順吉), Sodeisha member
Origin: Kyoto, Japan
Material: Glazed stoneware
Marking: Impressed seal at the foot
Accessories: None

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