Posted 4 years ago
kwqd
(1189 items)
These yunomi by Japanese potter Yoshio Endo are about 3.5" and 3.25" high and 3" in diameter, with hand signed tomobako and indistinctly signed bases. The glaze is a bit unusual as it stops in a rectangle at the base, which is unglazed.
The substance of the glaze on these is interesting, too, an example of yuteki tenmoku which is how the dotted appearance was obtained. The exterior glaze is a dark plum color transitioning to a clear glaze on the interior which shows off the color of the off white clay and tea when in use. These yunomi are substantial, more like stoneware, which I have been looking for, as most of my recent finds have been porcelain or fine, thin ceramic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenmoku
I was told that this meoto yunomi set came from the Nara Prefecture in Japan circa 1993-1994. I found another example of this artist's work, a tenmuko tea bowl in a similar signed tomobako, same glaze same clay. The set in this post was one of several gifts to an artist, a painter, when he first arrived in Japan.
The whitish clay used may be an indication that Yoshiro Endo worked in the Seto region of Japan known for its white clay. Lack of iron in this clay is responsible for its color. Seto is also known for artists who have revived the use of tenmoku glazes.
I am finding that vintage, unused meoto yunomi sets are fairly common which makes me suspect that new couples might often receive several sets as wedding presents and that they were also common gifts for other occasions, though this set is not vintage.
The biography page is missing but I found numerous examples that survive with other examples of his work, including the other one in my collection:
ceramic history
Endo
Yoshio
799 Maesawa, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture 0285720818
1944 Born in Hanyu City, Saitama Prefecture
1974 Enter Mishiro Kiln
1977 Independence
1978 Selected for the New Traditional Crafts Exhibition
1980 Selected for the New Traditional Crafts Exhibition
I can find nothing made by this artist after 1980, so he may have died around that time.
Thanks for taking a look at my latest meoto yunomi set Thomas, PhilDMorris, Jenni, fortapache and Kevin!
Thanks for taking a look dav2no1!
Hi kwqd, I don't know which kiln it is, but I think glaze is a version of yuteki tenmoku (or temmoku) - yuteki means "oilspot" and it can look either finely speckled (as here) or mottled. The other main type of tenmoku glaze is youhen, which is in fine streaks - often described as "haresfoot" in English.
I have a chawan by the Chinese-Canadian potter Wayne Ngan whose glaze is very similar to the one on your yunomi :)
P.S. Tenmoku is sometimes used to describe the shape of a certain Japanese teabowl also (a V-shaped bowl with a very small base). This type of teabowl sometimes has tenmoku glaze, but not always :) Tenmoku is named after a place in China and I think the reason the bowl shape has this name, as well as the glaze, is because this shape of teabowl was the one that tea was first made in when the practice of drinking powdered tea first came from China to Japan.
Thanks for the information rhineisfine! I appreciate it. I like this set even more, now that I understand the process by which they were glazed.
No problem :) It's a beautiful, subtle finish, one that I think really grows on you. I like that the interior is left unglazed so that you can appreciate the colour of the tea against the white clay. Nice find!
Thanks Karen!
Thanks iggy!
Thanks ho2cultcha!
I finally identified this artist as Yoshio Endo b. 1944.