Incense Burner
Artist
Miyashita Zenji
(Japanese, born 1939)
Date2000
Mediumstoneware with applied, overlapping layers of clay
Dimensions31 x 13.5 x 7 cm (12 3/16 x 5 5/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineAlexander H. Bullock Fund
Object number2004.33
Descriptionwith paulownia wood boxLabel TextMiyashita Zenji decorates his sculptural works by applying thin, irregularly shaped and overlapping layers of colored clays (saidei) to a stoneware body, here in shades of blue, purple, pink and yellow. Creating a poetic landscape with recessive mountain ranges, distant clouds and the light of the rising sun, the artist seeks the peace of mind one experiences in nature. The tall, subtly bulging body and peaked lid with vertical openings suggest the shape of a cobra. Acknowledging traditional sources, the vessel's three small feet indicate that it is an incense burner. Miyashita Zenji was born in Kyoto in 1939, the oldest son of the distinguished ceramicist Miyashita Zenju. Graduating from the Kyoto City University of Arts, he later returned as a lecturer. Widely exhibited in Japan and abroad, Miyashita has won numerous awards for his unique work.ProvenanceDr. and Mrs. Frederick Baekeland
On View
Not on view
Chinese
Kangxi period (1662–1722) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Kalong kilns
14th–16th century
