Hamada Shoji.
Hamada, Leach and Yanagi during a workshop tour in the United States.
Early 1950′s.
Shoji Hamada was born in Misonokuchi, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1894. He was to become, without doubt, the most influential potter of the Twentieth Century. Throughout a lifetime dedicated to making pottery he achieved international recognition and his works have been collected by many of the worlds greatest museums. Hamada was unique in that his immense influence was felt not only in
his native Japan, particularly in Mashiko, but also in the West. In the United Kingdom and the USA his style and philosophy became
legendary and he was revered as the archetypal ’Oriental’ potter. In 1955 he was designated as an important cultural Property or, as it is more commonly known ‘Living National Treasure.
A consummate potter – a gifted thrower with a relaxed ‘nonchalant’ style Hamada’s repertoire was extraordinary. His brushwork contains such energy, his patterns, although controlled and visually complicated, seem to have been born in a moment of creative energy. He has been called one of the greatest abstract expressionists of the Twentieth Century. Today his works are greatly sought after and attain high prices at auction.
As many of you know I have, for some time, been finding and then making available pieces by Shoji Hamada , Tatsuzo Shimaoka and Shinsaku Hamada. We have held two exhibitions at the pottery in Rhayader and both were hugely successful.
On this page I will place pieces as and when I can obtain them for you to see and contemplate purchasing. As always, I try to find the best pieces within a budget and I try to keep the purchase price as reasonable as I can.
If there is anything here that you might be interested in I can usually supply further pictures or arrange a suitable time for you to see the piece in the flesh. Please email me or telephone for further information. For customers within the UK we can usually arrange for a physical handover so not to risk posting. For overseas clients we would need to use a shipper as the Post Office do not insure. Overseas clients need to allow approx. £100 for shipping although I will try my best to get the best price possible.
Vase by Hamada Shoji.
Tenmoku and Nuka Glaze.
With a signed and sealed wooden box.
The tenmoku has been finger wiped around the bottom edge. 9.75 inches
A wooden box signed and sealed by Hamada Shinsaku.
This relaxed vase has a deceptively simple proportion and owes something to the mediaeval European tradition that Hamada encountered while in England in the 1920′s. The area where the two glazes meet is particularly beautiful and was achieved by dipping the second glaze while the first glaze was still wet.
£2,200
A Small Jug by Shoji Hamada
Kaki glaze with an incised pattern
SOLD
Probably initially part of a tea set. 3.5 inches tall. Circa 1950. An almost identical example is held the Horio Mikio Collection – Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka. Acc No. 32100. cat. Page 55 Plate 73. £475.00
Hexagonal Vase by Shoji Hamada.
Wiped pattern.
An hexagonal vase with tenmoku glaze. The decoration has been wiped through the wet glaze to reveal the ochre slip underneath. 7 5/8 inches tall. This vase is set at a low price which reflects the price I paid for it.
£900.00
SOLD
A Yunomi by Hamada Shoji with iron pigment brushwork.
Signed and stamped box by Hamada Shoji.
3.4 inches tall.
The brushwork on this particular example is exceptionally fluid and shows very clearly the spontaneity and freedom of Hamada’s style. This is yunomi is a signature piece. Hamada produced a number of these with variations of this pattern.
£950.00
RESERVED
A Raku dish with coloured glazes by Hamada Shoji.
It seems that quite late in his career Hamada made some raku pieces. He once said that Raku was a process suited to someone at the end of their career because it relies upon restraint and the experience of maturity.
8 Inches across.
I would date this piece from around 1967. A similar example can be seen in the catalogue for the exhibition held in Mashiko in 1994 to commemorate 100 years since Hamada’s birth. Plate 39 page 71. This piece has been restored expertly. At some point in its life the bowl was broken in two and put back together.The restoration has been done very well but like a lot of Raku there is no audible ring to the bowl. However, despite restoration it is a rare and unusual piece and really belongs in a museum collection.
£800
An ash glazed Yunomi by Hamada Shoji.
SOLD
Signed and sealed wooden box by Hamada Shoji. 3.1 inches tall.
Circa 1945.
A quiet, rather sedate cup from the earlier part of Hamada’s career. A beautiful, fresh green celadon that was also used under the Kaki glaze with wax resist.
£695.00
A yunomi with iron pigment decoration by Hamada Shoji.
SOLD
3.5 inches tall.
Signed and sealed wooden box by Hamada Shoji. Circa 1935
Another yunomi from the earlier years of Hamada’s career.
I can offer an 8% discount on this yunomi
£975 £895
A thrown and ovalled vase with iron pigment brushwork by
Hamada Shoji.
8 inches tall. Circa 1953.
Hamada developed a relaxed, almost ‘nonchalant’ style of throwing. Like Bernard Leach, he was greatly in admiration of the Korean country potters to whom he was introduced by Yanagi. Strict symmetry was not so important and became secondary to the qualities of plastic clay.
This vase also carries a wonderful statement of Hamada’s brush work.
There is no box to this piece although it still carries the original exhibition number on a label underneath. It was originally sold by Hamada to a participant in a workshop/demonstration in Hawaii in 1953
£2,400
A Boxed Yunomi by Hamada Shoji.
SOLD
A Yunomi with a dry Nuka glaze with Tenmoku.
2.5 inches tall.
A wooden box signed by Hamada Shinsaku. Circa 1950
The Nuka glaze has stayed very dry on this cup which is the way many of the potters in Mashiko like it.
The Tenmoku has broken nicely over a combed lower section to the outside of the bowl.
£700.00
A large tenmoku glazed plate with kaki poured decoration by
Hamada Shoji.
A wooden box signed by Shinsaku Hamada. 12.5 inches across.
Hamada described these plates as the ‘speciality of the house’ and they are amongst his most dramatic pieces.
The depth of the black tenmoku is contrasted with the bright red of the chestnut Kaki.
A superb example and unusual for its double rim.
£4,500
A Chawan with iron brush pattern by Hamada Shoji.
SOLD
A Chawan by Hamada Shoji.
5.4 inches across.
A wooden box signed by Shinsaku Hamada.
A Chawan with a minutely crawled surface resulting in a soft, beautiful quality especially to the lower portion of the bowl. The brushwork in iron pigment is quite flamboyant.
£1200
I can offer a 10% discount on this piece.
£1,080
A waisted vase by Hamada Shoji.
6.25 inches tall.
A wooden box signed by Hamada Shoji and with the workshop seal.
A deep, rich tenmoku glaze and contrasting finger wipes.
The seal on this box, as far as I can ascertain, was kept for those pieces made in larger quantities – perhaps for wedding presents or as corporate gifts. The signature is of Hamada and signifies his hand in the manufacture – probably the decoration. Whilst it is entirely possible that Hamada threw this vase many pots were not thrown by him but by his workers to his design. He would though, decorate and in doing so the pot would become his.
£750
A Yunomi by Hamada Shoji.
RESERVED
A Yunomi by Hamada Shoji. Iron pigment brush pattern over and ash glaze. A very typical piece from the mid sixties. Comes with a signed and sealed wooden box. 3.4 inches tall.
£995.00
A Chawan by Hamada Shoji.
A Chawan by Hamada Shoji based upon the traditional form of the rice bowl. The Green celadon ash glaze carries a pattern painted in two iron pigments. Comes with a signed and sealed wooden box. 5 inches x 3 inches.
£1150.00 I can offer this piece at £1050.
Press Moulded Bottle by Shinsaku Hamada.
A press moulded bottle by Shinsaku Hamada. Shinsaku Hamada is Hamada Shoji’s son and a well known potter in his own right. Now well into his eighties he works alongside his own son Tomoo in the same compound that was Shoji’s. Shinsaku has exhibited widely both in Japan and overseas particularly in the United States.
£950.00
Yunomi by Shinsaku Hamada
A yunomi by Shinsaku Hamada with iron brushed pattern.
£190.00
A Tokkuri by Tatsuzo Shimaoka.
A tokkuri or Sake bottle by Tatsuzo Shimaoka. Shimaoka was Hamada’s most favoured and illustrious pupil. Shimaoka’s pottery was next door to Hamada’s and they remained life long friends. Shimaoka’s father was a rope or cord maker and it was through his use of ropes to decorate his pots that he achieved acclaim and the title of National Living treasure.
£550.00
A Charger by Tatsuzo Shimaoka.
Not all of Shimaok’s pieces were decorated with rope patterns. This charger displays the influence of his master…Hamada and proves that Shimaoka was adept with the glaze trailing. Here, he has trailed Tenmoku glaze over a Nuka background.
£1,400