Sansai 三彩

Donated to PAM in 2024 -- 2025.24.23

Written on the box top is 正倉院/Shōsōin/Nara period treasure house that belonged to Todaiji/東大寺 復元/fukugen/restoration 三彩/sansai/three colors 花形/hanagata/flower pattern 酒杯/shuhai/sake cup.

Famed ceramic artist and Living National Treasure Takuo Kato died of pneumonia at a hospital in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, on Tuesday, his family said. He was 87.
Kato was a leading figure in the restoration of Persian lusterware ceramics that had disappeared around the 16th to 17th centuries and also in the restoration of three-color glaze ceramics, the oldest Japanese pottery technique, developed in the Nara Period (710-794).
Born into a family of pottery masters dating back to the late Edo Period (1603-1867), Kato began studying ceramic art at a very young age under his father, Kato Kobe, the fifth heir of the grand pottery master of Mino ware.
Kato distinguished himself as a leading expert in ancient pottery restoration techniques by successfully restoring Persian lusterware in the early 1980s after some 20 years of studies.
His achievements brought him numerous art awards. He was named a Living National Treasure in 1995.

Was born the oldest son of the fifth generation Kato Kobei, and trained at the Kyoto Ceramic Research Center after graduating from Tajimi Technical School. However, he was drafted during the war and was also a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He was unable to make a comeback for a while, but he resumed creating pottery from 1955, and he was selected for a prize for the first time in the 13th Japan Fine Arts Exhibition in the following year.
In 1961, he received an invitation from the Finnish Government and studied abroad at the Finnish School of Arts and Crafts. During his studies there, he traveled to areas in the Middle East such as Iran and became interested in Persian glaze pottery there. From that time onward, he devoted himself to researching Persian glaze.
After returning to Japan, in 1963 (with a Sancai piece) and in 1965 (with an oil spot tenmoku piece), he received the highest honors in the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition and the Hokuto Award. In 1964, he received the Contemporary Arts and Crafts Award (with a Jun ware piece) in the Japan Contemporary Arts and Crafts Exhibition.
Along with creating pottery, he also often took part in the excavation and research of ruins in Iran on the side. He continued his research on Persian glaze, and after over 20 years of trials, he successfully recreated a type of Persian glaze, lusterware, that had died out since the 17th Century.
In 1982, 1988 and 1995, he received the Ministry of Education Award all three times in the Japan Art Crafts Exhibition. In 1991, he received the Japan Ceramic Society Gold Prize. In 1993 he received the MOA Okada Mokichi Award and his lusterware piece was evaluated highly. In terms of commendations, he was acknowledged as a Gifu Prefecture Important Intangible Cultural Property and a Tajimi City Intangible Cultural Property in 1983. He received the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1988, and in 1955, he was acknowledged as a Nationally Designated Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure), Honorary Citizen of Tajimi City and Honorary Citizen of Gifu Prefecture.
Apart from his lusterware pieces, he excelled in the coloration technology of Sancai glaze and he handled the restoration work of the Sancai in Shosoin at the request of the Imperial Household Agency. He was acknowledged as an Important Intangible Cultural Property due to his Sancai techniques.
- the highest appraised market value of art was over 6,000,000 JPY.
https://chano-yu.com/famous-japanese-potters-and-marks/#nakajima-hiroshi