25024 Imperial Household Artist, Ceramic Master Itaya Hazan (White Porcelain Chrysanthemum Incense Burner from the Hazan family (Certificate of Authenticity from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government))

Height 12.0cm

Diameter 13.8cm

He graduated from the sculpture department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (studied alongside Okakura Tenshin and Takamura Koun), and after winning numerous awards, including third place for his "Porcelain Gold and Purple Crystal Glazed Vase" at the Tokyo Industrial Exposition in 1907, he was appointed an Imperial Household Artist. He was the first ceramic artist to receive the Order of Culture, and in 1955, he declined an offer to be designated a Living National Treasure, as he believed ceramics to be art. This work was created by Japan's greatest ceramic artist, Itaya Hazan (1872-1963), who is regarded as an unparalleled great ceramic artist in modern times, and a pioneer in establishing modern art ceramics rather than traditional ceramics as a ceramic artist who studied the fundamentals of art.

He was a potter who had an immeasurable influence on the history of modern pottery, leaving behind such representative works as the "Bao Guang Painted Porcelain Vase with Rare Fruit Design" (Important Cultural Property, in the collection of the Izumiya Hakukokan Museum), the "Painted Porcelain Vase with Enju Design" (in the collection of Idemitsu Museum of Arts), and the "Painted Porcelain Vase with Bird and Fruit Design" (Tsurui Museum of Art).

His thin-walled carvings, a specialty of his, are highlighted by the precise carving techniques he honed under the Imperial Household Artist and sculptor Takamura Kokun at the Sculpture Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and, combined with the neat forms created by the hands of Genda Ichimatsu, the solitary potter who continued to support Itaya Hazan from behind the scenes, they exude the utmost elegance and clarity.

Among the incense burners he continued to create until his later years, this one is particularly wonderful and exudes the highest level of artistry. The beautiful pomegranate pattern on the entire body, the high-quality agate firebox, the tense box inscription, the silk matching cord and cloth, and other features clearly convey the passion that Hazan put into this piece, making this a masterpiece with many highlights.

The design of slender chrysanthemum petals running down the sides is derived from the ridged lotus petals on celadon bowls produced at Longquan kilns from the Southern Song to Yuan dynasties in China. By carving out each petal deeply and giving them a sharp outline, the wave mountain shape is given a well-defined shape.

The same handwriting is included in the catalogue.