Madara-kin shino ware chawan (tea bowl)

While this tea bowl is thoroughly contemporary in both its form and glazing, it nevertheless draws on a range of classically Japanese methods and traditions. As such it will serve to compliment beautifully the Oriental MuseumÂ’s existing collections. Born in Kyoto in 1948, Suzuki Tomio is one of the foremost living ceramicists working with shino glazes. Shino ware is notoriously difficult to make, with a failure rate of over 70% even in the hands of the most skilled of potters. As Suzuki Tomio observes,'Making shino requires the same deductive reasoning that detectives use to solve a mystery. They eliminate variables one-by-one until they find the answer. For me, it's the same. I'll try a new method, fail, and try another until I've found one that works.' This acquisition was presented by the Art Fund and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.