{"product_id":"234","title":"Nitten Special Selection and Hokuka Award Winner, Nitten Councillor, Seiko Kitade - Iroe Kinsai Kachomon Sake Cup - Contemporary Kutani Ware's Pinnacle of Saidei Iroe Craft - One of a Kind #234","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"30\"\u003eThis is an extremely dignified sake cup masterpiece by Mr. Seiko Kitade (real name: Isamu Kitade, 1928-2011), the third son and most faithful disciple of Tojiro Kitade, a pioneering ceramic artist who greatly redefined the history of Kutani ware from modern to contemporary times, and a master who inherited the legitimate lineage. Seiko Kitade was born in Daishoji, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture in 1928 and, until his passing at the age of 83 in 2011, established his own tranquil artistic world in the post-war contemporary ceramics scene, primarily through the Nitten exhibition. From a young age, he was thoroughly instilled with the strict modernist philosophy passed down from Kenkichi Tomimoto, a Living National Treasure who promoted the modernization of ceramics, to his father, Tojiro: \"Do not create patterns from existing patterns.\" This creative spirit, which rejects easy imitation of classics and instead generates new modern designs from sketching nature, gives his works a special authority in the art world as treasures of modern Kutani ware, demonstrating the noble artistry and advanced techniques directly descended from Tomimoto.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"31\"\u003eThe techniques for which Seiko Kitade is most highly acclaimed are the Saidei colored clay technique, which he inherited from his father and further refined in his own generation, the delicate multi-layer overglaze painting, and the highly harmonized gold, silver, and platinum decoration. In terms of design, he excelled throughout his life in developing modern and exotic abstract geometric patterns inspired by birds, plants, and classical patterns from Persia and Central Asia. By perfectly blending the unique thickness and painterly texture of colored clay and overglazes within a single vessel, rather than treating the smooth surface of porcelain merely as a painting canvas, he succeeded in expressing a quiet, deep, and poetic space previously unseen in Kutani ware.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"32\"\u003eThis \"Iroe Kinsai Kachomon Sakazuki\" (Sake Cup with Enameled and Gold-decorated Fruit and Butterfly Design) is a masterpiece that clearly and densely expresses Seiko's outstanding techniques and designs. Four equidistant round windows are placed around the outer circumference of the vessel, within which beautifully gradient \"butterflies,\" abstractly modernized yet based on meticulous sketches, and richly ripened \"fruit\" motifs are vividly depicted alternately. Filling the space around the round windows are the intricate Persian-style abstract geometric patterns that are Seiko's true specialty, with the thickness of the red and green overglazes placed at the intersections of the grids and the elegant gold lines bordering them forming a magnificent three-dimensional texture. Furthermore, a round window is placed at the center bottom of the cup's interior (mikomi), with a design of fruiting plants surrounded by a refined dotted pattern in gold on a red ground (akaji kinrande), and red and gold double lines around the rim. Such high-difficulty decorations are applied without compromise, even to the innermost parts. This technique of combining colored clay, multi-layer overglaze, and gold decoration carries an extremely high risk of peeling and cracking due to differences in shrinkage rates between the body and the colored clay, and requires multi-stage firing, moving the piece repeatedly between the main kiln and the overglaze kiln after determining the optimal temperature range. Thus, it is an ultra-high-difficulty crystallization achievable only through the skill of an exceptional master craftsman. On the back of the foot, the artist's signature \"Seiko\" is proudly written in green paint, proof of his genuine work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"33\"\u003eSeiko Kitade consistently maintained a style throughout his life of creating each piece with singular devotion for exhibition at Nitten and solo shows, distinguishing himself from commercial crafts produced for mass consumption. Therefore, the total number of existing works is extremely limited. In particular, many of his major and representative works are housed in public museums and research institutions such as the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art and the Research Institute of Art and Craft, Kanazawa College of Art. Authentic small pieces circulated in the private market are exceedingly rare, possessing immense scarcity value. This is a very rare Japanese masterpiece about which there is little information overseas. We propose this sake cup, imbued with art-historical authority and superlative technique, as the ultimate Japanese Kōgei sake vessel for enjoying traditional Japanese beauty in the palm of your hand, in line with a sophisticated modern lifestyle. Its small, comfortable size of 3.0 cm in height, 6.3 cm in rim diameter, and 2.7 cm in base diameter is ideal for savoring aged sake and mature sake that have acquired deep richness and mellow aromas over many years. The vivid overglaze and noble gold decoration covering the entire vessel resonate beautifully with the elegant amber color of the poured aged sake, elevating a daily evening drink into a luxurious experience of appreciating supreme three-dimensional art. It is the ultimate modern piece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-path-to-node=\"34\"\u003e*The description on the wrapping paper is also transcribed below.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"35\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[Transcription] \u003c\/strong\u003eNobe (of the field) though it flourishes, its age will end. The leaves, merely scattered by the west wind, the forest wind, the dew that rested on them, too, scatters to the original leaves. Not even a drop of dew remains, all just scattering away. Nothing remains, such is this world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"36\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(English Poetic Translation) \u003c\/strong\u003eThough the fields lushly flourish, their span of life must reach its dusk. The leaves that bide now are swept away by the autumn wind, the sighing forest breeze; the dew that rested upon them scatters back to its mother leaves. Vanishing without leaving even a single droplet behind, it all scatters and fades—such is the fleeting law of this impermanent world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"37\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArtist: \u003c\/strong\u003eSeiko Kitade (real name: Isamu Kitade, 1928-2011)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"38\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eArtist's Representative Activities:\u003c\/strong\u003e [1952] First selection at the 8th Nitten Exhibition, [1962] Received the Special Selection and Hokuka Award at the 5th Shin Nitten Exhibition, [1975] Appointed Nitten member, [1992] Appointed Nitten councilor, Member of the Ishikawa Prefectural Designated Intangible Cultural Property Kutani Ware Technical Preservation Society\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"39\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWorks in Collection:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Research Institute of Art and Craft, Kanazawa College of Art, and other major public institutions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"40\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduction Period:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1980s (Golden age as a Nitten member, mature period in his 50s)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"41\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProduct Condition: \u003c\/strong\u003eVery good (no chips, no cracks)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"42\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Porcelain (colored clay, overglaze enamel, gold decoration)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"43\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAccessories:\u003c\/strong\u003e None (including wrapping paper)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"44\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions: \u003c\/strong\u003eHeight approx. 3.0 cm, Rim diameter approx. 6.3 cm, Base diameter approx. 2.7 cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-path-to-node=\"45\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNote: \u003c\/strong\u003ePlease note that all products offered by our store, even if brand new and unused, originate from a historic production period and are strictly listed as antique\/used fine art items. Vintage products may exhibit subtle age-related characteristics; please consider purchasing upon full understanding and confirmation.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Antique Liquor","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47754503913659,"sku":null,"price":35000.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0652\/0510\/8923\/files\/IMG_8709_result.jpg?v=1783739758","url":"https:\/\/antiqueliquor1926.com\/en\/products\/234","provider":"Antique Liquor","version":"1.0","type":"link"}