森陶岳作　大皿|Serving Platter

Mori Tōgaku

1999 · Stoneware with natural ash glaze (Bizen ware) · Asian Art

Mori Tōgaku comes from a line of potters active in the Bizen area since the end of the sixteenth century. He has made it his mission not only to perpetuate inherited working methods but also to revive techniques that died out long ago. The large kilns he has built serve as an essential aspect of his identity; this platter was fired in a wood-burning kiln. Mori laid strands of rice straw soaked in salt water across the platter’s center, and then covered it with a bowl supported on three pads of clay to protect it from flying wood ash. The salt water and rice straw vaporized during the firing, leaving behind orange-red streaks, while the three pieces of clay created circles in the central medallion.

Artist

Mori Tōgaku

Date

1999

Medium

Stoneware with natural ash glaze (Bizen ware)

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Halsey and Alice North, 2017