Diamond-shaped covered box

Maker(s)
Artist: Kawai Kanjiro 河井寛次郎 (1890-1966)
Historical period(s)
Showa era, ca. 1950
Medium
Stoneware with chrome, iron and cobalt-tinted glazes
Dimensions
H x W x D: 13 x 18.2 x 16.5 cm (5 1/8 x 7 3/16 x 6 1/2 in)
Geography
Japan, Kyoto
Credit Line
Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1988.56a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Container
Type

Box

Keywords
Japan, Showa era (1926 - 1989), stoneware
Provenance
Provenance information is currently unavailable
Label

Although Kawai Kanjiro helped to establish the Japanese Folk Craft Movement in the 1920s, the ideal of the 'unknown craftsman' proved incompatible with his strong individualism. In contrast to the work of Hamada Shoji, Kawai's work shows a sequence of distinct transformations of style, from the Chinese copies of his youth to the abstract expressionism of his last years. This mold-formed box bears a soft blue-gray glaze tinted with cobalt and patterned complexly with chrome and iron glazes, a format that he used during the 1940s.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Whistler's Neighborhood
Google Cultural Institute
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