Height: 7.7cm
Diameter: 12.1cm
Outer diameter of foot: 4.9cm
Height of foot: 0.7cm
This is a famous work by NINSEI, and is known as the best of his KINTE tea bowls. It is called “senshuri” (fan-shaped) because of its elegant design.
The shape is a gentle bowl shape, and the foot is also delicate and refined, making it a work that is truly representative of Kyoto-yaki and befitting of Ninshō. The rim is slightly concave and slightly peach-shaped.
The body is made from elegant white clay, and the soft white glaze with its characteristic fine cracks, characteristic of Ninshō, flows gently up to the rim, and the glaze has a warm and elegant tone without being too shiny. In keeping with this mood, the exterior is decorated with a classic Japanese design of a fan floating on a stream, with a fan-shaped design, in a combination of gorgeous colors of red, blue and purple, and with a touch of gilding, creating a graceful scene. The world that is realized on the glaze with a subtle flavor brings to mind the world of the imperial court’s dreams and fantasies, and this mood can also be said to be the keynote of Ninshō’s works.
The foot ring is chamfered and thin, and this irregularity adds even more elegance to the neat style of the work. On the inside of the foot ring, there is a small seal of “Ninsei” in the appropriate place on the left, but in the case of Ninsei, both the large and small seals are designed with the utmost care, not only in the typeface of the seal script, but also in the location of the seal, as if it were a signature in a painting or calligraphy, and as a general rule, they are usually stamped on the left.
Many of Ninshō’s works were made to the taste of Kanamori Sōwa, and so designs based on court ceremonial traditions and traditional Japanese-style designs are a major feature. In this respect, the elegant style and graceful painting of the fan-shaped design are very much in the courtly taste, and it can be said that this is the best representative of the style of NINSEI KINTE tea bowls.
Accessories:
Three certificates of authenticity
Inner box: paulownia wood, plain finish, with gold-colored writing on the lid: “Omuroyaki” by Sowa Kanamori
A hanging scroll by Sowa Kanamori, a letter addressed to Hayato Matsudaira.
It was formerly owned by Tetsuma Akahoshi, and in 1917, when the family sold off their collection, it was purchased by Fusanosuke Kuhara for 53,000 yen. Since then, it has been in the family, and in recent years, it came into the possession of the current owner, a famous tea ceremony enthusiast from the Kansai region.
