Sakata Jinnai - 日本茶碗 - 无釉石器陶（焼締 / yakishime），高温木窑烧制 - 地球的记忆

Item Description
Artist: 坂田甚内 Sakata Jinnai（1943- ）
Title of Artwork: Primal Black Stoneware Tea Bowl — "Memory of Earth" Series by Sakata Jinnai, Held in the British Museum

A powerful unglazed stoneware tea bowl from the celebrated "Memory of Earth" (土の記憶) series by Jinnai Sakata, one of the most singular voices in contemporary Japanese ceramics. A student of the legendary avant-garde ceramicist Shoji Kamoda, Sakata has developed a deeply personal practice rooted in the primal expressiveness of raw clay and fire.

The bowl is formed with a rounded, slightly asymmetric body that widens generously toward the open rim, resting on a compact foot ring. The entire outer surface is covered in dense, flowing wave-like incised patterns — concentric arcs layered in rhythmic succession, evoking topographic contour lines, ocean swells, or the geological strata of the earth itself. This surface carving, applied with extraordinary energy and consistency, transforms the vessel into something closer to sculpture than functional ware.

Fired unglazed at high temperature (yakishime), the body achieves a deep, matte black tone with subtle warm amber tones emerging at the shoulder — the natural result of kiln atmosphere acting on the raw clay. A fine network of fire-crazing marks the surface; these are inherent to the firing process and regarded as one of the work's most compelling features, evidence of the intense heat the clay has endured. Turned on its side, the piece reveals a remarkably sculptural presence — a quality consistent across Sakata's body of work.

Size
Height: 8 cm
Width (diameter): 14 cm

Weight: 295 g

Condition
In good condition. The fine crazing visible on the surface is an intentional result of the high-temperature unglazed firing and is considered one of the defining aesthetic features of this work, not damage.

Artist Profile
坂田甚内 Sakata Jinnai（1943- ）
Born in Tokyo in 1943, Jinnai Sakata studied under Shoji Kamoda (1933–1983) — one of the most radical and influential ceramicists of post-war Japan — from 1964. In 1966, he established his own kiln and began working independently. In 1992, he founded the Ohmoriko Studio (桜杜工房) in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, the historic ceramics town associated with Shoji Hamada and Bernard Leach, where he continues to work today.
Sakata's practice spans ceramics, glass art, and Hyper Drawing — a unique drawing discipline he pioneered. His work is held in distinguished collections worldwide, including the British Museum (London), the Izumo Grand Shrine, the Rockefeller Foundation (New York), Enryaku-ji Temple (Mt. Hiei), Kodai-ji Temple (Kyoto), and the United States Embassy in Japan. He has held solo exhibitions in New York and throughout Japan since 1987.

【Provenance】
Japan, private collection

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