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Lot Essay
In 1966, the Osaka industrialist Hosomi Ryo (Kokoan; 1901–1978) published a small volume on Japanese Negoro lacquer. The works he illustrated, including the one shown here, are thought to come entirely from his own extensive collection. His collection, well known for many pieces registered as Important Art Objects and Important Cultural Properties, now forms the core of the Hosomi Museum in Kyoto, founded in 1988. Hosomi made his fortune when he started his own woolen textile industry business in 1924, becoming president of Senshu Woolen Textiles and Sumire Woolen Textiles, Inc.
The ewer has a round, bucket-like body and generous, trilobate handle. The pleasing proportions and sturdy shape reflect generations of skilled lathework. The scalloped carving of the three-legged base adds a decorative flourish. Metal fittings enhance and reinforce the knop of the lid and the spout. As Hosomi points out in this description of this work, most such ewers were used for display in an alcove or to serve meals in a Zen temple. This example, by contrast, appears strictly utilitarian. Being a man of tea, however, he adds, “I would like to use this particular vessel in my tea-room alcove to hold a white flower.”
The functional, geometric forms and warm, monochromatic colour of Negoro vessels give them a universal appeal. Today, art connoisseurs around the world appreciate Negoro, and for good reason. The name Negoro derives from the name of an extensive Buddhist temple complex, Negoro-dera, in the Katsuragi Mountains in Wakayama Prefecture, where such wares were once produced in large quantities.
Red lacquerware goes back to the Jomon period. The technology for applying coloured lacquer to wood vessels has ancient roots in Japan. The wood core of the object is first covered with a thin layer of clay mixed with lacquer. This primer is then brushed with an intermediate coat of black lacquer, followed by one or more coats of red lacquer. Here, black lacquer has worn through the smooth, red lacquer skin in areas where the pitcher has been handled and wiped continuously over the years.
The ewer has a round, bucket-like body and generous, trilobate handle. The pleasing proportions and sturdy shape reflect generations of skilled lathework. The scalloped carving of the three-legged base adds a decorative flourish. Metal fittings enhance and reinforce the knop of the lid and the spout. As Hosomi points out in this description of this work, most such ewers were used for display in an alcove or to serve meals in a Zen temple. This example, by contrast, appears strictly utilitarian. Being a man of tea, however, he adds, “I would like to use this particular vessel in my tea-room alcove to hold a white flower.”
The functional, geometric forms and warm, monochromatic colour of Negoro vessels give them a universal appeal. Today, art connoisseurs around the world appreciate Negoro, and for good reason. The name Negoro derives from the name of an extensive Buddhist temple complex, Negoro-dera, in the Katsuragi Mountains in Wakayama Prefecture, where such wares were once produced in large quantities.
Red lacquerware goes back to the Jomon period. The technology for applying coloured lacquer to wood vessels has ancient roots in Japan. The wood core of the object is first covered with a thin layer of clay mixed with lacquer. This primer is then brushed with an intermediate coat of black lacquer, followed by one or more coats of red lacquer. Here, black lacquer has worn through the smooth, red lacquer skin in areas where the pitcher has been handled and wiped continuously over the years.