Masahide Hashizume (橋詰正英), Japanese (b. 1959)

A Vase with Maple Design (釉裏紅金銀彩紅葉図壷)

Showa Era (1926-1989), Heisei Era (1989–2019) or Reiwa Era (2019 – present)

About the work

An exquisite porcelain vase by Masahide Hashizume, displaying his mastery of copper red underglaze combined with gold and silver overglaze decoration. The vessel’s rounded form rises elegantly to a narrow mouth, its pure white surface serving as a luminous ground for a dynamic maple motif.

Red and yellow maple leaves drift across the body, their fine veins highlighted in delicate metallic pigments. A flowing ribbon of gold and silver sweeps diagonally through the design, evoking a river or autumn breeze, uniting natural beauty and abstract movement in perfect harmony. The balance of vivid color, restrained form, and impeccable technique exemplifies Hashizume’s contemporary interpretation of Japanese decorative tradition.

The artist’s seal is impressed on the base, and the piece is accompanied by its original signed wooden storage box and protective cloth.

Dimensions

24.3cm(h) x 15.5cm(w)

Footnote

Masahide Hashizume was born in 1959 in Tateshina, Nagano Prefecture. He completed graduate studies in ceramics at the Tokyo University of the Arts, where he studied under the university’s then-president and Living National Treasure, Fujimoto Yoshimichi. His works have been selected for the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition, the Eastern Japan Branch Exhibition of the Japan Kōgei Association, and the Asahi Ceramic Art Exhibition. He has also held solo exhibitions at Nihonbashi Takashimaya and Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi.