Bizen Ware Inbe Crane-Neck Flower Vase by Isezaki Mitsuru, Sealed with Matching Box

This is a Bizen ware (Bizen-yaki) Inbe crane-neck flower vase (tsuru-kubi hanaire) by Isezaki Mitsuru (伊勢﨑満), a holder of the Okayama Prefecture Important Intangible Cultural Property designation. It is made of unglazed, high-fired Bizen stoneware in the traditional Momoyama-style aesthetic.

• Artist / Maker: Isezaki Mitsuru (伊勢﨑満), holder of the Okayama Prefecture Important Intangible Cultural Property designation
• Subject / Motif: Crane-neck flower vase (tsuru-kubi hanaire)
• Technique: Unglazed, high-fired Bizen stoneware
• Material: Bizen stoneware
• Dimensions: Height 21.7 cm, mouth diameter (outer) 5.6 cm, body diameter 11.7 cm; weight 549 g (measured by an amateur; please allow for slight error)
• Signature / Seal / Box: Potter's seal on the piece (see image 16); matching wooden box (tomobako)
• Included: Matching wooden box (tomobako), matching cloth (tomogire), and pamphlet (shiori)
• Condition: Near unused (like new). Please refer to the photos for the item's current appearance and condition.

Isezaki Mitsuru (1934-2011) was born in Inbe, Bizen City, as the eldest son of Isezaki Yozan. A serious master of tea ceramics, he pursued Momoyama-style forms, clay character, and firing. He fired his works in a climbing kiln and a medieval-style anagama kiln, using only pine wood and avoiding electric or gas kilns. His younger brother Isezaki Jun is a Living National Treasure.

The accompanying pamphlet records his ceramic history up to 2007, and the seller believes the work dates from around that time.