Takahashi Makoto (高橋誠), Japanese, (1948–2013)

A Porcelain Sake Bottle with Songbird Design

Showa Era (1926-1989) or Heisei Era (1989-2019)

About the work

This finely decorated porcelain tokkuri (sake bottle) is the work of Takahashi Makoto, a distinguished ceramic artist and member of the Japan Kogei Association. The vessel is painted in overglaze enamels with a lively design of shrikes (a kind of songbird) perched among seasonal foliage, executed with delicate brushwork and naturalistic coloration. The rounded body with a narrow mouth exemplifies both functional refinement and painterly charm, qualities for which Takahashi’s porcelain works are celebrated.

The piece is preserved with its original signed wooden storage box (tomobako), stamped seal, and accompanying leaflet, underscoring its authenticity and provenance.

Dimensions

9.5cm(h) x 8cm(w)

Footnote

Takahashi Makoto (1948–2013) was born in Saitama Prefecture and trained at the Tokyo University of the Arts, where he completed his graduate studies in 1976 under the guidance of Fujimoto Yoshimichi. He was first accepted into the Japan Traditional Craft New Works Exhibition shortly after and became a full member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1984. Establishing his kiln in Nebukawa, Odawara in 1986, Takahashi went on to hold solo exhibitions in Ginza (1987) and Osaka (1994), and in 2006 participated in a major three-artist exhibition at the Asahi Beer Oyamazaki Villa Museum alongside Kawano Sanjū and Murose Kazumi. His work is admired for its refined enamel decoration, blending traditional motifs with a modern sensibility.