ShimpakuBonsai
Chumono
A few months ago during the Lodder open house bonsai market I was looking at the booth of a seller of Japanese goods (mostly books and scrolls but also some pots).
There were only small mame and shohin pot and I was going through the pots looking for artist marks, selecting and setting them aside for a possible buy.
The seller saw I was interested in the pots and offered me his whole stock for a price I couldn't refuse.
I bought 29 pots in total for € 100 and I think it was a steal because a lot of the pots had marks on them.
When I arrived home I counted all the individual price tags and the total value was nearly € 400 and I still can't belief I bought all of them for the price I paid.
Recently I started to try to identify my bonsai pots which have artist marks.
I'm using the Japanese Bonsai Pot Blog as a reference.
I have identified the following Japanese potters from the pots I bought at the Lodder open house bonsai market:
- Bunzan Seto
- Maruto Seto
- Marufuji Seto
- Tosui
- Heian Kousen
But now comes the best part of identifing the pots.
It took me some time but I'm pretty sure I have identified a Heian Kouzan pot and I couldn't be happier.
It is probably a 2nd generation pot and below you can read what makes me think it is a Heian Kouzan pot.
Size of the pot: 9x5.5 cm
On the Japanese Bonsai Pot Blog there are 2 articles about Heian Kouzan.
- Part 1 Glazed and Painted Heian Kouzan: https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2013/04/14/heian-kouzan平安香山part-1/
- Part 2 Unglazed Heian Kouzan: https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2013/05/08/heian-kouzan平安香山part-2-2/
Quotes from part 1:
"There are 3 potters in Japan whose work is considered the pinnacle of Japanese design and aesthetics in Bonsai pottery: Heian Tofukuji, Tsukinowa Yusen, and Heian Kouzan; also known as the “Big Three”."
"A few salient points should be poised about Kouzan pots. Pre-war pots use a white clay, while post war pots use reddish clays."
"The braided rim, called something like a “hemp rope decoration” in Japanese, is a Kouzan signature adornment."
Quotes from part 2:
"hemp rope rim are characteristic Kouzan, used in both early and late work."
"Second Generation Kouzan are most typically rounds, as Kouzan Jr was a master of the wheel."
Heian Kouzan Artist Marks from the part 2 article.
The Japanese Bonsai Pot Blog shows 4 different Heian Kouzan Artist Marks.
The artist mark on the right shown below is the same as the mark on my pot.
The most commonly seen Kouzan marks. The last two were used by both the 1st and 2nd generation, but are much more common on second generation pots.
Based on this info I'm pretty sure it is a 2nd geneartion unglazed 2nd gen Heian Kouzan pot.
Sometimes luck is on your side and this pot alone is probably worth the money I paid for the whole lot.
There were only small mame and shohin pot and I was going through the pots looking for artist marks, selecting and setting them aside for a possible buy.
The seller saw I was interested in the pots and offered me his whole stock for a price I couldn't refuse.
I bought 29 pots in total for € 100 and I think it was a steal because a lot of the pots had marks on them.
When I arrived home I counted all the individual price tags and the total value was nearly € 400 and I still can't belief I bought all of them for the price I paid.
Recently I started to try to identify my bonsai pots which have artist marks.
I'm using the Japanese Bonsai Pot Blog as a reference.
I have identified the following Japanese potters from the pots I bought at the Lodder open house bonsai market:
- Bunzan Seto
- Maruto Seto
- Marufuji Seto
- Tosui
- Heian Kousen
But now comes the best part of identifing the pots.
It took me some time but I'm pretty sure I have identified a Heian Kouzan pot and I couldn't be happier.
It is probably a 2nd generation pot and below you can read what makes me think it is a Heian Kouzan pot.
Size of the pot: 9x5.5 cm
On the Japanese Bonsai Pot Blog there are 2 articles about Heian Kouzan.
- Part 1 Glazed and Painted Heian Kouzan: https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2013/04/14/heian-kouzan平安香山part-1/
- Part 2 Unglazed Heian Kouzan: https://japanesebonsaipots.net/2013/05/08/heian-kouzan平安香山part-2-2/
Quotes from part 1:
"There are 3 potters in Japan whose work is considered the pinnacle of Japanese design and aesthetics in Bonsai pottery: Heian Tofukuji, Tsukinowa Yusen, and Heian Kouzan; also known as the “Big Three”."
"A few salient points should be poised about Kouzan pots. Pre-war pots use a white clay, while post war pots use reddish clays."
"The braided rim, called something like a “hemp rope decoration” in Japanese, is a Kouzan signature adornment."
Quotes from part 2:
"hemp rope rim are characteristic Kouzan, used in both early and late work."
"Second Generation Kouzan are most typically rounds, as Kouzan Jr was a master of the wheel."
Heian Kouzan Artist Marks from the part 2 article.
The Japanese Bonsai Pot Blog shows 4 different Heian Kouzan Artist Marks.
The artist mark on the right shown below is the same as the mark on my pot.
The most commonly seen Kouzan marks. The last two were used by both the 1st and 2nd generation, but are much more common on second generation pots.
Based on this info I'm pretty sure it is a 2nd geneartion unglazed 2nd gen Heian Kouzan pot.
Sometimes luck is on your side and this pot alone is probably worth the money I paid for the whole lot.
