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Square covered incense container with handpainted flowers and lid

Kawai Kanjirô

Artwork Details

Square covered incense container with handpainted flowers and lid
circa 1938-1941
Kawai Kanjirô
stoneware with blue, copper and lead underglaze painting and translucent glaze
2 x 3 11/16 x 3 1/8 in. (6.35 x 9.37 x 7.94 cm); ; ; ; ; ;
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen H. Spurr
2003/2.11A&B

Description

In 1929, Kawai Kanjirô exhibited ceramics that embodied his idea of the Mingei aesthetic—a testimony to his increasingly close relationships with Yanagi Sôetsu (1889–1961) and Hamada Shôji (1894–1978), two important figures in the Mingei movement. This work was dramatically different from his earlier production, which emphasized an elegance and technical perfection modeled on Chinese porcelain and stoneware traditions. Kawai would remain committed to the Mingei aesthetic, encapsulated in the phrase “utility is beautiful,” throughout his long and prolific career.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Kawai often produced containers with lids for the storage of small objects like incense. Though diminutive, they retain the strong forms and sense of color that he acquired from his early study of Chinese ceramics.
(Turning Point exhibition, Spring 2010)

Subject Matter:

incense container.

Physical Description:

square incense container with lid. Blue copper, and lead underglaze painting is used on each of the four sides and lid under translucent glaze.

Usage Rights:

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