25895 Ichiyo Yamamoto Pure Platinum Coloring Auspicious Clouds Rising Dragon Large Plate YAMAMOTO Ichiyo

Height 5.5cm
Diameter 57.8cm

Kazuhiro Yamamoto was born in Nagasaki Prefecture in 1944. He learned Arita ware by himself and began researching pure platinum color at the age of 41. He is a famous artist who uses platinum with a purity of 98%, and is the only person in the world to create pottery using "pure platinum".

In China, only the imperial dragon is depicted with five claws on its feet. The jewel held by the dragon is called Nyoihoju. It is also called Nyoiju or Nyoiman, and in Sanskrit it means a jewel that grants any wish. It is said to be a sacred jewel that can cure illnesses, avoid disasters, and grant all kinds of wishes.

Another anecdote about jewels that is related to dragons is the rising dragon and the descending dragon. Both are familiar images of auspicious dragons, with a rising dragon heading towards the heavens and a descending dragon descending from the heavens. Generally, a rising dragon does not hold a jewel in its hand. This is because there is an anecdote that says that dragons rise to the heavens to retrieve jewels. So on the way there, they are not holding the jewel in their hand. This dragon is a descending dragon that has retrieved the jewel. A dragon holding a jewel is called a Tama-Chasing Dragon.

He began training in Arita/Imari ware in his family's home town of Saga Prefecture in 1969, and is famous for perfecting platinum coloring, which he began using high-purity platinum in 1985.

This unique technique allows the colour and lustre of the porcelain to be enhanced, creating a range of colours that differ from the previously known layered underglaze and overglaze techniques of gold, red and blue.

In 2010, he had a special invitational exhibition at the National Museum of Ceramic Art in Valencia, Spain. His artistic talent was recognized as a "ceramic jewel" by the Honorary President of the Catalan Ceramic Society, and Yamamoto's collection has come to be admired worldwide.