"Soshun (Early Spring)" Sometsuke Porcelain Vessel with Mountain and Forest Motif – Fujii Shumei, - Porcelain - Fujii Shumei / 藤井朱明 (1936– ) Japanese porcelain artist working in Arita, Saga Prefecture. - Japan - Shōwa period (1926-1989)

A luminous porcelain vessel where layered mountains and dense forests dissolve into pale winter light, evoking the stillness of early spring.

Description:
This elegant vessel presents a graceful ovoid form rising to a slender neck with a softly undulating rim. The body swells gently before tapering toward a small, neat foot, creating a balanced silhouette that feels both grounded and buoyant. The pure white porcelain surface serves as a quiet canvas for the painted landscape that encircles the lower half.
The decoration depicts successive ridges of forested mountains rendered in underglaze cobalt blue. In the foreground, densely arranged conifer motifs create a rich, textured pattern of deep indigo. As the mountains recede into the distance, the blue pales to soft grey-blue washes, with faint parallel lines suggesting mist-shrouded slopes. A delicate band of fine horizontal lines separates the painted zone from the undecorated upper body, reinforcing the impression of a horizon line or distant atmosphere.
The upper portion of the vessel remains unglazed white, pure and luminous, heightening the sense of open sky above the mountains. The foot is neatly trimmed with a clean white base. The piece comes with a wooden storage box, a wooden title plaque bearing a brush-written inscription and red seal, and an artist’s certificate featuring the artist’s name, seal, and studio mark. Please note that the wooden storage box is missing its lid.


Cultural & Art Context:
Landscape motifs painted in underglaze blue have a long and distinguished history in Japanese porcelain, particularly in the Arita tradition. Contemporary Arita artists continue to explore this aesthetic, combining refined brushwork with a distinctly Japanese sensitivity to atmospheric effects and seasonal mood. Forest and mountain scenes rendered in graded washes of cobalt evoke the quiet, contemplative spirit valued in Japanese ceramic art.

Collector Appeal:
This vessel offers collectors an opportunity to acquire a work by a recognized Arita artist known for his distinctive approach to landscape decoration. Pieces combining traditional sometsuke technique with contemporary artistic vision are increasingly sought after by collectors interested in postwar Japanese studio ceramics.

Dimensions:
Height: 25 cm
Diameter: 15 cm
Weight: 1733 g

Condition:
No chips, cracks or restorations.
※The lid of the original wooden box (tomobako) is missing.

Artist Profile:
Fujii Shumei was born in 1936 in Arita, Saga Prefecture, Japan. From the age of fifteen, he worked at local overglaze enamel workshops and porcelain manufacturing companies. In 1962, his work "Kanryū" (Cold Current) was accepted into the prestigious Nitten (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition), and he went on to be selected fifteen times thereafter. In 1963, he established himself as an independent nishiki-tsuke (overglaze decoration) artisan. In 1974, he founded his own studio, the Shumei-gama kiln.
His awards include the Newcomer Prize at the Kyushu-Yamaguchi Ceramics Exhibition (1971), the Minister of Education Award at the same exhibition (1978), and the Japan New Craft Award at the Japan New Craft Exhibition (1981). His works have been purchased by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on six occasions and were exhibited at the British Museum in 2000. In 1994, he received the Saga Prefecture Arts and Culture Merit Award. He holds membership in the Nitten as an Associate (Kaiyū) and the Saga Art Association.
Fujii is particularly known for his technique of using leaf imagery in underglaze blue to express the atmospheric landscapes of Arita through the seasons.

Additional Notes
Please review all photos carefully as they are part of the item description.

Shipping Information
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