Informazioni su Banko-Yaki Kyusu Teapot, "Thousand Lines" - Suigetsu III - 400ml

A round-bodied Banko-yaki kyusu by Shimizu Suigetsu III, third-generation master of the Suigetsu kiln in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, and one of the most decorated living potters working in the ware.

Fine vertical lines run the full height of the body, rising from the base, swelling apart across the widest point and drawing back together at the shoulder. They do not simply repeat. The spacing breathes as the wall curves, so the pattern gives the pot its volume the way meridians give a globe its roundness. On the lid the lines break into rays that radiate from the knob, some running long, some stopping short, opening the top like the ribs of a paper umbrella.

The reference is sensuji, the thousand-line motif Japanese potters have traditionally cut into clay with a blade. Suigetsu arrives at it another way. Using the sandblasting technique that has become his signature, he cuts the surface back to several precisely controlled depths, so the pattern is relief and colour at once. The lines you see are the lines you feel. Each depth exposes the clay at a different tone: bright pewter at the shallowest pass, cool graphite between, near black in the deepest channels. Three tones, one body, no glaze and no pigment anywhere on the piece. What looks like inlay is the clay showing what it holds inside.

Run a thumb across it and the whole design is there under the skin, a fine corduroy of ridge and groove. Because it is cut into the body rather than laid on top of it, the decoration cannot chip, craze, fade or wear off. Use this pot every day for thirty years and the lines will be exactly as crisp as the day it left the kiln.

The plain elements do the quiet work. Spout, knob and side handle are left in bare clay, a soft gunmetal brown that absorbs light instead of throwing it back, which keeps every bit of brightness on the ruled body. The handle is drawn out and slightly waisted where the fingers close, set at the angle that lets the pot roll forward into the pour rather than being lifted into it. The lid drops in flush and the pattern carries across the seam.

Banko clay is dense and iron-rich, with the steady heat retention that has made the ware a standard for sencha and gyokuro for generations. This is a pot for the shelf that belongs on the table.

One of a kind. Supplied with its original signed wooden box and papers.

About the Artist

Shimizu Suigetsu III is among the most decorated living masters of Banko-yaki. He has been recognized at national ceramic and traditional craft exhibitions including the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition, with more than 20 honours over his career, and his work has been presented to members of the Japanese Imperial Household. His pots are held in collections in Japan and internationally, and his output is small. Work of this calibre rarely leaves Japan.

Details & Specifications

• Origin: Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan
• Artist: Shimizu Suigetsu III
• Ware: Banko-yaki
• Type: Kyusu (side-handled Japanese teapot)
• Finish: Sensuji line pattern, sandblasted to multiple depths, no paint or glaze
• Material: Natural Banko clay
• Capacity: 400 ml
• Included: Signed wooden box and papers
• Use: Sencha, gyokuro, kukicha, Japanese green tea

Care

Rinse with warm water soon after use and remove the leaves promptly. No soap or dishwasher. Let the pot dry fully, lid off, before storing.