23340 Kitaoji Rosanjin (Shino Sake only)

Height 4.6cm Diameter 5.7cm

Praised as an artist who never made it big, he displayed his extraordinary talents not only in ceramics but also in seal carving, lacquerware, calligraphy, and other fields. Works by Kitaoji Rosanjin, a great master of all arts who left behind numerous masterpieces and legends.

The Shino ware that the artist continued to create from his early days as a potter until his final years changed dramatically from the milky white with a slight hint of scarlet that he initially produced to a reddish hue, eventually becoming a work with a beautiful contrast between red and white. When he first began working on Shino ware, he used the white moxa clay commonly used for Shino ware, but as this clay's properties were not suitable for practical use as vessels for serving food, he began using the fine, high-quality red clay from Shigaraki.

Because of this, the Shino ware that Rosanjin made gradually took on a reddish tinge, and Rosanjin did not miss this coincidence. In his search for a more intense red ware that resembled dancing flames, he conducted extensive research and used new techniques to succeed in creating a "Shino" that had never been seen before.

This piece is particularly popular among the artist's Shino pieces, and displays the artist's characteristic vivid red coloring. It is a piece that beautifully harmonizes the shape of a ceramicist well versed in the classics with the scarlet color of an artist who has also mastered calligraphy and painting. It is not a simple imitation of Momoyama Shino, but a piece that exudes a beautiful presence, developed with the gaze of a gourmet.

The piece itself is clean and the scarlet color is clear.