Negano Tetsushi (長野垤志), Japanese, 1900–1977

A Cast Bronze Tea Caddy (青銅茶筒)

Showa Era (1926 – 1989) 

About the work

A refined cast bronze tea caddy by Negano Tetsushi, a celebrated Japanese metal artist and Living National Treasure. Compact and beautifully proportioned, the vessel has a gently swelling cylindrical body rising to a subtly irregular mouth, combining functional simplicity with a quiet sculptural presence.

The bronze is finished in a warm reddish brown patina with subtle tonal variations across the surface. The front is decorated with a finely incised geometric motif resembling a traditional Japanese architectural structure or gateway. Executed with remarkable restraint, the linear design is integrated discreetly into the patinated surface, revealing itself gradually under changing light.

A narrow raised band encircles the base, providing a crisp visual counterpoint to the softly rounded body. The understated decoration, controlled proportions and nuanced patination demonstrate Tetsushi's sophisticated approach to cast metalwork, in which the inherent qualities of bronze are allowed to take precedence over elaborate ornament.

The work is accompanied by its original signed wooden storage box (tomobako).

Dimensions

9.7cm(h) x 8.5cm(w)

Footnote

Negano Tetsushi (長野垤志, 1900–1977), born Matsuzō in Aichi Prefecture, was a distinguished Japanese metal artist and Living National Treasure celebrated for his mastery of traditional casting. Initially aspiring to become a painter, he moved to Tokyo in 1917, but turned to the decorative arts following the Great Kantō Earthquake and studied metal casting under Yamamoto Azumi. In 1928, he joined Katori Hotsuma’s Nanokakai group, and in 1931 studied the making of tea ceremony kettles under the Nagoya kama master Itō Kazumasa. He received the Special Selection Prize at the Imperial Art Exhibition in 1933 and continued to exhibit at major national exhibitions after the war. In 1959, he received the NHK Chairman’s Award, and in 1963 was designated a Living National Treasure for his mastery of tea ceremony kettle making. Negano closely studied historic Ashiya and Tenmyō kettles, adapting their forms with a modern sensibility, and was particularly acclaimed for successfully reviving the technically demanding traditional wazuku iron casting process. Beyond tea kettles, he also produced notable cast works in bronze and silver, including flower vases and other vessels.