Suzuki Osamu (Japanese, 1926–2001). <em>Vessel</em>, ca. 1960. Glazed porcelain, 6 11/16 × 5 1/2 × 3 9/16 in. (17 × 14 × 9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Steven Korff and Marcia Van Wagner and Bertram H. Schaffner Asian Art Fund, 2020.1.3 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2020.1.3_overall_PS11.jpg)

Suzuki Osamu (Japanese, 1926–2001). Vessel, ca. 1960. Glazed porcelain, 6 11/16 × 5 1/2 × 3 9/16 in. (17 × 14 × 9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Steven Korff and Marcia Van Wagner and Bertram H. Schaffner Asian Art Fund, 2020.1.3 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2020.1.3_overall_PS11.jpg)

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Vessel

Suzuki Osamu

Asian Art

An influential innovator in modern Japanese clay art, Suzuki Osamu was one of the founders of the Sodeisha movement, which strove to take ceramics out of the purely decorative and functional realm. Over his long career, he employed many different techniques to create quirky, often humorous forms. Whereas most of his pieces were left undecorated in order to emphasize their shape, this unusual, relatively early example features a splash of glaze and an incised drawing.

ARTIST Suzuki Osamu, Japanese, 1926–2001

MEDIUM Glazed porcelain

Place Made: Japan

DATES ca. 1960

DIMENSIONS 6 11/16 × 5 1/2 × 3 9/16 in. (17 × 14 × 9 cm) (show scale)

MARKINGS Artist's mark on the back.

INSCRIPTIONS Artist's signature on the box.

COLLECTIONS Asian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 2020.1.3

CREDIT LINE Partial gift of Steven Korff and Marcia Van Wagner and Bertram H. Schaffner Asian Art Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Small J-shaped flower vessel on a flaring foot. The piece consists of a squared tube of clay, closed at the bottom, that curves up to form a "J." The opening rim is torn and irregular. The exterior is glazed in white. The interior is either unglazed or slip-painted in reddish brown. On the convex side of the curve is a dripping splash of bright blue glaze with an incised circle inside an incised square, colored in black, on top. Suzuki was celebrated for his wide range of innovative forms, many of which were sculptural and playful, as seen in this early piece. He was a founder of the Sodeisha movement of Japanese ceramics, which promoted clay as a sculptural medium and encouraged an engagement with Modernist aesthetics. This piece is typical of the early years of that movement. Accompanied by a traditional wood storage box signed and sealed by the artist.

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Suzuki Osamu (Japanese, 1926–2001). Vessel, ca. 1960. Glazed porcelain, 6 11/16 × 5 1/2 × 3 9/16 in. (17 × 14 × 9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Partial gift of Steven Korff and Marcia Van Wagner and Bertram H. Schaffner Asian Art Fund, 2020.1.3 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2020.1.3_overall_PS11.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 2020.1.3_overall_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2021

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Vessel

Suzuki Osamu

Asian Art

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