{"product_id":"kyoto-ceramic-tea-lid-rest-futaoki-with-sanae-motif-by-makuzu-kosai-near-unused-signed-box","title":"Kyoto Ceramic Tea Lid Rest (Futaoki) with Sanae Motif by Makuzu Kosai — Near Unused, Signed Box","description":"Experience Authentic Japan Art with this Japanese Tea Ceremony Futaoki. This Kyoto Ceramic Lid Rest serves as a Chado Tea Ceremony Utensil and Iro-e Overglaze Pottery, featuring Sanae Young Rice Seedling Motif and Makuzu Kosai Signed Work—a must-have for any Art Collector seeking Vintage Japanese Ceramic Teaware or a Tea Ceremony Gift.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Makuzu Kosai (Miyagawa Kosai) — one of Kyoto's most revered hereditary ceramic lineages\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Iro-e (polychrome overglaze enamel) on cream-white crackle-glaze Kyō-yaki stoneware; square peg foot (kaku-ashi)\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Shōwa–Heisei period (post-1960s); traditional Kyoto ceramic lineage\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Kyoto, Japan (Kyō-yaki \/ Kiyomizu-yaki tradition)\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Height approx. 5.3 cm, Diameter approx. 5.5 cm\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Original signed wooden presentation box (tomobako) in excellent condition, lid inscribed 「早苗 蓋置」 with Makuzu Kosai seal\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Near unused; minimal signs of handling; interior and exterior glaze pristine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL \u0026amp; ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003eThe futaoki — literally \"lid-rest\" — is among the most intimate utensils in the Japanese tea ceremony (chado). It holds the kettle lid when the host ladles water, functioning as a quiet pause in the ritual, a moment of stillness made visible. In the refined world of Kyō-yaki, these small cylinders become canvases for seasonal poetry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe motif here is 早苗 (sanae) — young rice seedlings, freshly transplanted in early summer, their pale roots wrapped in bundles, leaves still tender with the season's first green. In Japanese poetic tradition, sanae signals renewal, abundance yet to come, the land awakening. Makuzu Kosai renders them with characteristic precision: crisp green and teal brushstrokes, dark brown base ties, floating above a golden mist-earth ground (gofun-kin). The creamy white crackle glaze — a signature of the Miyagawa kiln — provides the perfect ground: quiet, luminous, self-effacing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The young rice stands in still water — each blade a small declaration that the season has turned.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]\u003cbr\u003eThe Makuzu Kosai (真葛香斎 \/ Miyagawa Kosai) lineage is one of the most celebrated in Kyoto ceramic history. The Miyagawa family established their reputation in the Meiji era through Miyagawa Kozan (1842–1916), whose work was exhibited internationally and collected by Western museums. The 'Kosai' branch (京都 真葛窯) continued the tradition of refined Kiyomizu-yaki with particular mastery of iro-e overglaze enameling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe iro-e (色絵) technique involves applying pigment-based enamels over a fired glaze and refiring at lower temperature to fix the colors. The sanae motif shown here demonstrates the delicate hand of a practiced Kyoto painter: three distinct color layers (green, teal, ochre-brown) applied with precision, the seedling bundles conveying movement and life without a single wasted mark. The gold misty ground (kin-no-kasumi) is achieved by applying fine gold powder into the glaze layer, creating the atmospheric earth-border characteristic of seasonal landscape painting in the Rimpa school influence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe square foot (kaku-ashi) is a formal design element seen in higher-grade futaoki intended for use in formal tea (gyocha or shinsho) settings. It distinguishes this piece from the simpler round-footed variety used in more casual settings. The cylindrical form itself is one of the classic futaoki shapes alongside the six-sided bamboo segment (take-no-fushi) and the turtle shape — all representing elements of the natural world carried into the tearoom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor collectors, the presence of the original tomobako signed by the artist is the single most important authentication and provenance document. Here, the box is in excellent condition with clear inscription and seal — a relatively rare find for a piece in this condition bracket. Near-unused futaoki with artist boxes represent ideal entry points into serious Kyoto ceramic collecting: the functional scale keeps prices accessible, while the artistic and cultural depth is equivalent to larger, more expensive pieces.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe sanae motif connects the tea practitioner to the agricultural calendar — specifically to the rice-planting season of early summer (around the traditional calendar month of Minazuki). Tea masters have long used seasonal utensils to draw the practitioner's awareness toward the turning of the year, transforming a simple ceramic rest into a meditation on time, labor, and the earth's generosity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【基本情報】\u003cbr\u003e作家：真葛香斎（宮川香斎）— 京都陶芸界において最も格式高い家系の一つ\u003cbr\u003e技法：色絵（上絵付け）。乳白色の貫入釉を持つ京焼の素地に多彩な絵付けを施す。角足形式\u003cbr\u003e時代：昭和〜平成期（伝統的京都陶芸の継承作品）\u003cbr\u003e産地：京都（京焼・清水焼の系譜）\u003cbr\u003e寸法：高さ約5.3センチ、径約5.5センチ\u003cbr\u003e共箱：良好な状態の真葛香斎銘入り共箱付き。蓋面に「早苗 蓋置」と記され、印が押されている\u003cbr\u003e状態：未使用に近い。使用の痕跡はほとんど見られず、内外の釉薬面とも清潔で美しい\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【文化的・芸術的洞察】\u003cbr\u003e蓋置は茶道具の中でも最も瞑想的な存在のひとつです。点前の静止点において、釜の蓋をそっと受け止める。その小さな役割の中に、茶の湯の精神——「間（ま）」と「静けさ」——が宿っています。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e早苗の図は、初夏に田に移された若い稲の苗を題材とします。緑と青緑の繊細な色絵の筆致で、根を藁で結んだ苗が描かれ、金泥を交えた霞の地の上に浮かんでいます。日本の詩的伝統において、早苗は再生と豊穣の予兆を意味します。真葛香斎はその精緻な筆で、この古来の主題を清楚な乳白の貫入釉肌の上に静かに描き出しています。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e「静水に立つ早苗——一本一本の葉が、季節の訪れを静かに告げる。」\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【ディープダイブ解説】\u003cbr\u003e真葛香斎（宮川香斎）は、京都陶芸史において卓越した系譜を誇ります。宮川家は明治期に宮川香山（1842〜1916年）によって国際的名声を確立し、その精緻な技と表現力は欧米の美術館にも収蔵されています。香斎家はその伝統を受け継ぎ、京焼・清水焼の中でも特に色絵の技法において高い評価を維持してきました。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e色絵は、本焼き後の釉薬面に顔料系の上絵具を用いて描き、低温で再焼成することで色を定着させる技法です。本作の早苗文は熟練の京都絵師の確かな手を感じさせます。緑・青緑・黄褐色の三層が精密に重ねられ、余分な一筆もなく苗の生命感が伝わります。金泥の霞の地は、琳派的な季節の景色の表現に通じる雅な仕上がりです。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e角足の形式は、正式な茶（行茶・真茶）で使用される格の高い蓋置の特徴です。単純な丸足のものとは区別され、よりフォーマルな設えを示す指標となります。円筒形の本体は、竹の節・亀形などとならぶ伝統的な蓋置の基本形のひとつです。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eコレクターの視点からは、作家自筆銘の共箱の存在が本品の最大の価値ポイントです。保存状態の良好な共箱付きで、かつ本体がほぼ未使用という組み合わせは稀少です。小振りな実用器でありながら、京都陶芸の文化的・芸術的深度を備えた蓋置は、本格的なコレクションの入口として理想的な一品と言えます。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e早苗の意匠は、茶人を農耕暦の初夏——水無月の田植えの季節——へと誘います。茶道において季節の道具を使うことは、修行者の意識を今この瞬間の自然へと向け直す実践であり、この小さな蓋置もまた、時間と労働と大地の恵みへの静かな瞑想となっています。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ SHIPPING \u0026amp; PACKAGING ]\u003cbr\u003e• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days\u003cbr\u003e• Carrier: Japan Post EMS \/ UPS (with tracking)\u003cbr\u003e• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials","brand":"The Modern Zen Archive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61954454094194,"sku":"260618_a_2995","price":828.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m36892845680_1.jpg?v=1781797141","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/kyoto-ceramic-tea-lid-rest-futaoki-with-sanae-motif-by-makuzu-kosai-near-unused-signed-box","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}