Ryoji Koie (鯉江良二), Japanese, 1938–2020

A Tsubo Jar (つぼ)

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

About the work

This tsubo jar by Ryoji Koie reflects the artist’s uncompromising engagement with clay and form. The vessel rises from a modest foot into a softly rounded body, tapering gently toward a narrow neck. Its silhouette is quiet yet resolute, with subtle asymmetries that preserve the immediacy of hand-built process and resist mechanical refinement.

The surface is coated in a pale, milky glaze marked by delicate crackle and slight pooling, revealing nuanced shifts in tone created during firing. These understated effects draw attention to the material itself and to the transformative role of fire. The work functions simultaneously as a utilitarian vessel and as an independent sculptural presence.

It is accompanied by its original wooden storage box and cloth, confirming authenticity and careful preservation.

Dimensions

16.7cm(h) x 6cm(w)

Footnote

Ryoji Koie (1938–2020) was born in Aichi Prefecture and trained in ceramics at Tokoname High School and the Tokoname Municipal Ceramic Research Institute. A central figure in postwar Japanese ceramics, he co-founded the Tokoname Formative Group and built his own anagama kiln in 1975. Koie was a member of the International Academy of Ceramics and taught for many years at Aichi University of the Arts. Actively exhibited internationally, including at the Denver Art Museum and the Centre Pompidou, he received numerous honors such as the Vallauris International Grand Prize, the Oribe Prize, and the Japan Ceramic Society Gold Award.