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Shino Tea Bowl with Iron Brushwork by Arakawa Toyozo, Living National Treasure
Shino Tea Bowl with Iron Brushwork by Arakawa Toyozo, Living National Treasure
Regular price
Dhs. 2,641.00 AED
Regular price
Sale price
Dhs. 2,641.00 AED
Taxes included.
Shipping calculated at checkout.
A Shino tea bowl by Arakawa Toyozo — Living National Treasure, and the man who rewrote Japanese ceramic history. This handmade Japanese chawan carries the full cultural weight of Momoyama Shino revival: thick white feldspar glaze, bold iron brushwork in abstract motifs, and the unmistakable presence of an artist who spent a lifetime in dialogue with a 400-year-old tradition. A museum-worthy tea ceremony piece from the master of Mino ware.
🔹 [ THE WORK ]
The surface speaks with the authority of decades. Thick white Shino feldspar glaze — the kind that can only come from slow, wood-fired kilns — blankets the form in luminous warmth. Where the glaze thins, soft pinkish-peach hi-iro (fire color) surfaces, the kiln's signature written in heat. Tiny pinholes punctuate the glaze surface, each one a record of gases escaping during the long firing — a hallmark of authentic Shino.
Across this white field, Arakawa's iron brushwork (tetsu-e) moves with absolute freedom. Dark brown and reddish tones flow in cloud-like, organic forms — abstract passages that suggest mountains dissolving into mist, or water moving through stone. The brushwork is bold without being aggressive, free without being careless. This is the hand of a man who understood that Shino is not a surface but a living process.
The foot reveals sandy, exposed clay — the raw earth of Mino. The rim carries gentle irregularity, the organic asymmetry that the Japanese tea tradition calls "the beauty of the imperfect." The bowl's presence is immediate and quiet simultaneously.
🔹 [ THE ARTIST ]
Arakawa Toyozo (荒川豊蔵, 1894–1985) was designated a Living National Treasure (人間国宝) in 1955 for his mastery of Shino and Seto-guro ware.
In 1930, Arakawa made a discovery that transformed the understanding of Japanese ceramics. At Mutabora in Mino (Gifu Prefecture), he unearthed ancient kiln shards that proved Shino ware originated not in Seto — as scholars had believed for centuries — but in Mino. This single finding rewrote ceramic history.
Arakawa built his own kiln near the ancient Momoyama-period site and devoted the remaining five decades of his life to one pursuit: reviving the Shino of the 16th century masters. He studied their clay, their glazes, their firing methods — not to replicate, but to continue a conversation interrupted by 400 years of silence.
To hold an Arakawa Shino tea bowl is to hold a direct connection to that continuity — from the anonymous Momoyama potters, through Arakawa's hands, to yours.
🔹 [ PROVENANCE & AUTHENTICATION ]
• Tomobako (artist-signed wooden box) reading "志野 茶碗" (Shino Tea Bowl)
• Artist signature and seal on box
• Consistent with Arakawa Toyozo's documented Shino production
🔹 [ DIMENSIONS ]
• Height: approx. 8.6 cm (3.4 in)
• Diameter: approx. 13 cm (5.1 in)
🔹 [ CONDITION ]
Excellent condition consistent with age. No chips, cracks, or repairs. Please examine photos carefully as they form part of the description.
🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ]
• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials
🔹 [ THE WORK ]
The surface speaks with the authority of decades. Thick white Shino feldspar glaze — the kind that can only come from slow, wood-fired kilns — blankets the form in luminous warmth. Where the glaze thins, soft pinkish-peach hi-iro (fire color) surfaces, the kiln's signature written in heat. Tiny pinholes punctuate the glaze surface, each one a record of gases escaping during the long firing — a hallmark of authentic Shino.
Across this white field, Arakawa's iron brushwork (tetsu-e) moves with absolute freedom. Dark brown and reddish tones flow in cloud-like, organic forms — abstract passages that suggest mountains dissolving into mist, or water moving through stone. The brushwork is bold without being aggressive, free without being careless. This is the hand of a man who understood that Shino is not a surface but a living process.
The foot reveals sandy, exposed clay — the raw earth of Mino. The rim carries gentle irregularity, the organic asymmetry that the Japanese tea tradition calls "the beauty of the imperfect." The bowl's presence is immediate and quiet simultaneously.
🔹 [ THE ARTIST ]
Arakawa Toyozo (荒川豊蔵, 1894–1985) was designated a Living National Treasure (人間国宝) in 1955 for his mastery of Shino and Seto-guro ware.
In 1930, Arakawa made a discovery that transformed the understanding of Japanese ceramics. At Mutabora in Mino (Gifu Prefecture), he unearthed ancient kiln shards that proved Shino ware originated not in Seto — as scholars had believed for centuries — but in Mino. This single finding rewrote ceramic history.
Arakawa built his own kiln near the ancient Momoyama-period site and devoted the remaining five decades of his life to one pursuit: reviving the Shino of the 16th century masters. He studied their clay, their glazes, their firing methods — not to replicate, but to continue a conversation interrupted by 400 years of silence.
To hold an Arakawa Shino tea bowl is to hold a direct connection to that continuity — from the anonymous Momoyama potters, through Arakawa's hands, to yours.
🔹 [ PROVENANCE & AUTHENTICATION ]
• Tomobako (artist-signed wooden box) reading "志野 茶碗" (Shino Tea Bowl)
• Artist signature and seal on box
• Consistent with Arakawa Toyozo's documented Shino production
🔹 [ DIMENSIONS ]
• Height: approx. 8.6 cm (3.4 in)
• Diameter: approx. 13 cm (5.1 in)
🔹 [ CONDITION ]
Excellent condition consistent with age. No chips, cracks, or repairs. Please examine photos carefully as they form part of the description.
🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ]
• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials
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