About Banko-Yaki Kyusu Teapot, "Kagome" - Suigetsu III - 490ml

A broad, deep-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.

The form is full and generous, the walls bowing out from a narrow foot and turning in again to a flat shoulder where the lid seats in a cut collar. Every edge is softened. The whole of that curved surface is worked, and it is worked twice.

First come the verticals: hundreds of fine lines running the full height, drawn closer at the foot and opening as the belly swells, so the ruling itself describes the volume. Over them Suigetsu lays long pale arcs that sweep around the body, crossing the verticals at shallow angles and crossing one another to open triangles, lozenges and slow diamonds. The eye reads a net pulled taut over the form. The reference is kagome, the woven bamboo lattice of old Japanese basketry, abstracted here to pure line. Look longer and larger shapes surface out of the interference, soft facets that appear and dissolve as the pot turns in the light. On the lid the two systems meet and resolve into a radiating web centred on the knob, so the pattern closes rather than stopping at the rim.

Nothing here is painted or glazed. Suigetsu cuts the design into the clay with the sandblasting technique that has become his signature, working the surface back to several precisely controlled depths. Depth is what makes the colour. The shallowest passes leave the clay pale silver, the mid ground reads cool graphite, the untouched body stays near black. One clay, no pigment, three values, and the whole design stands in relief under the fingertips as a fine web of ridge and groove. Because it is cut into the body rather than laid on top, it cannot chip, craze, fade or wear away.

The second layer is the difficult one. Ruling regular verticals on a curve that changes as it falls away from the tool is already exacting. Cutting a second set of sweeping arcs across them, holding depth steady so the tone stays true where the two cross, is work that allows no correction. Every intersection here is clean.

Spout, knob and side handle are left in bare clay, a soft gunmetal that takes light quietly and lets the lattice carry the piece. The handle is long and waisted where the fingers close, flaring at the end, set at the angle that tips the pot forward into the pour. The spout is drawn to a fine mouth for a clean cut-off.

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. Made to be used.

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: Kagome lattice, sandblasted to multiple depths, no paint or glaze
• Material: Natural Banko clay
• Capacity: 490 ml

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.