Accession Number
2003/2.15

Title
Ovoid vase

Artist(s)
Kawai Kanjirô

Object Creation Date
circa 1937-1938

Medium & Support
stoneware with iron glaze; scallop design created with wax resist

Dimensions
9 3/4 in x 7 11/16 in x 6 5/16 in (24.77 cm x 19.53 cm x 16.03 cm);11 in x 9 1/2 in x 7 7/8 in (27.94 cm x 24.13 cm x 20 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen H. Spurr

Label copy
Kawai Kanjirô
Japan, 1890–1966
Ovoid bottle
Showa period (1926–1989)
circa 1950
Stoneware
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen H. Spurr, 2003/2.15
Vase
Showa period (1926–1989)
1960–63
Stoneware with off-white and colored glazes
Museum purchase, 1963/2.70
This brown and white bottle was made using the neriage (meaning “kneading up”) technique invented in China. Neriage involves layering white and dark-colored clays, cutting the resulting slab into slices, and then layering the already-layered clay slices to create intricate patterns. In the 1950s, Kawai returned to this technique, first mastered during his youthful fascination with Chinese ceramics, after a lapse of twenty years. His later works, however, including this bottle, have a strong graphic quality that suggests a modern sensibility.
In the 1960s, Kawai also created a group of sculptural pieces with a splatter application of colorful glazes that recalled the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock. Even in these experimental works, however, he stayed true to the principle of utility by retaining the vessel form.
(Turning Point exhibition at UMMA)
Round bodied vase with neck and foot. Scalloped designs of iron red shades and off-white repeat, encircling the vase body and foot.
---
This brown and white bottle was made using the neriage (meaning “kneading up”) technique invented in China. Neriage involves layering white and dark-colored clays, cutting the resulting slab into slices, and then layering the already-layered clay slices to create intricate patterns. In the 1950s, Kawai returned to this technique, first mastered during his youthful fascination with Chinese ceramics, after a lapse of twenty years. His later works, however, including this bottle, have a strong graphic quality that suggests a modern sensibility.
In the 1960s, Kawai also created a group of sculptural pieces with a splatter application of colorful glazes that recalled the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock. Even in these experimental works, however, he stayed true to the principle of utility by retaining the vessel form.
(Turning Point exhibition, Spring 2010)

Subject matter
Kawai Kanjirô
Japan, 1890–1966
Ovoid bottle
Showa period (1926–1989)
circa 1950
Stoneware
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen H. Spurr, 2003/2.15
Vase
Showa period (1926–1989)
1960–63
Stoneware with off-white and colored glazes
Museum purchase, 1963/2.70
This brown and white bottle was made using the neriage (meaning “kneading up”) technique invented in China. Neriage involves layering white and dark-colored clays, cutting the resulting slab into slices, and then layering the already-layered clay slices to create intricate patterns. In the 1950s, Kawai returned to this technique, first mastered during his youthful fascination with Chinese ceramics, after a lapse of twenty years. His later works, however, including this bottle, have a strong graphic quality that suggests a modern sensibility.
In the 1960s, Kawai also created a group of sculptural pieces with a splatter application of colorful glazes that recalled the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock. Even in these experimental works, however, he stayed true to the principle of utility by retaining the vessel form.
(Turning Point exhibition at UMMA)
Round bodied vase with neck and foot. Scalloped designs of iron red shades and off-white repeat, encircling the vase body and foot.
---
This brown and white bottle was made using the neriage (meaning “kneading up”) technique invented in China. Neriage involves layering white and dark-colored clays, cutting the resulting slab into slices, and then layering the already-layered clay slices to create intricate patterns. In the 1950s, Kawai returned to this technique, first mastered during his youthful fascination with Chinese ceramics, after a lapse of twenty years. His later works, however, including this bottle, have a strong graphic quality that suggests a modern sensibility.
In the 1960s, Kawai also created a group of sculptural pieces with a splatter application of colorful glazes that recalled the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock. Even in these experimental works, however, he stayed true to the principle of utility by retaining the vessel form.
(Turning Point exhibition, Spring 2010)

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
vase

Additional Object Classification(s)
Decorative Arts

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
ceramic ware (visual works)
vases