A Catalogue of 40 Chawan. Here I am presenting a selection of 40 Chawan in this the last catalogue of pots for 2018.
A LITTLE HISTORY The Chawan has its roots in China…the black tenmoku tea bowls of the 12th century Song period were the preferred bowls for drinking tea and became highly prized in Japan. The bowls with their ‘hares fur’ or ‘oil spot’ glazes were said to be the perfect vessel combining both shape and colour for drinking light coloured teas.
Jian Tea bowl. Southern Song Dynasty (1127 – 1279)
. It was considered that the intense blacks and streaked reds contrasted in an aesthetically pleasing way against the white foam that appears when whisking powdered tea and became something that the tea drinking purists really admired. A little later these Chinese bowls were reproduced in Japan at the Seto kilns. Later, as the tea ceremony became more wabi in nature the qualities of certain Korean rice bowls became popular amongst the tea drinking aficionados. The tea masters admired the austere and serene beauty of the Ido bowls and adopted the spiritually significant yet humble Korean rice bowl as Chawan. In the late 16th century potters from the Korean peninsula were brought to Japan and were settled in Hagi and Karatsu. The Hagi ware bore great resemblance to the Ido bowls that were so revered by the Japanese tes masters and some of the Karatsu pottery can be seen to have descended from Korean Buncheong
The Chawan is most commonly associated with the tea ceremony. The tea ceremony is a stylised ‘performance’ that incorporates the preparation and sharing of powdered green tea and is counted as one of the three classical Japanese arts of refinement. However, the Chawan is not used exclusively as part of the tea ceremony. In Japan, when one receives guests to the house the Chawan can be used to make the guest feel a little special or honoured. I can remember once being at the beautiful and traditional house of Toro Matsuzaki a renowned lacquer ware maker and brother of Ken It was a very cold and snowy day. We were given powdered green tea in a variety of Chawan and all made by famous Japanese potters. Hamada, Shimaoka, Ken Matsuzaki were all present and we drank the warm tea as the snow fell in huge flakes outside the window. It was a memorable experience. It is true that there are many conventions contained within the cult of the Chawan. Experts, tea masters, potters all have their requirements as to what makes a Chawan a good or even great Chawan. Yet, the question is open to debate. It is also certainly true that a Chawan need not display all or even many of the conventional possibilities. Hamada, for instance, did not yield to many of the conventions at all. The story goes that Hamada had not made Chawan until one day at an opening of one of his exhibitions a buyer of one of his bowls remarked that he would be using it as a Chawan in his own tea house. From that time Hamada made bowls that were made and sold as Chawan but did not, in any conventional sense, conform to many of the generally held rules. They were bowls of the right size and the A Chawan by Hamada Shoji. Circa 1965.
shapes were certainly suitable for both winter and summer bowls but there was no undulating rim or carved foot or Kodai or even Chadamari the slightly sunken well in the bottom of the bowl. There is though style and balance in Hamada’s bowls, they are pleasantly weighted with the weight evenly distributed throughout the bowl. The lips are comfortable and of course, as with all of Hamada’s pieces there is an exciting visual experience and often a tactile one too.
So…the Chawan can be open to a great many interpretations and contain few, some or many of the conventions that history has determined for this form. It is certainly true that it is hard to please a Japanese aficionado but I’m happy to say that I have sold a number of Chawan to Japanese customers, supplied all the tea utensils including 8 Chawan, for a Japanese tea house at Washington and Lee University in the USA and once had the nerve to gift one to Shimaokasan who subsequently used it in his own tea house in Mashiko.
A Chawan by National Living Treasure Tatsuzo Shimaoka. Circa 1995.
In this catalogue I have gathered 40 such bowls from recent firings to commemorate my 40 years as a potter the anniversary of which was in April of this year ( 2018) when I opened the doors of my first workshop in Rhayader…one for each year. I hope you like my selection.
Three of my bowls in use at the Chanoyu Tea Society of Washington and Lee University.
Please email me at philrogerspottery@gmail.com with the number or numbers to reserve your choice. I will deal with orders strictly in order of emails arriving and I apologise in advance if your first choice has already gone. I will update the catalogue as often as I can. Payment can be by cheque or by bank transfer or, if you are overseas, by Paypal…I can supply the details later.
A Christmas gift for the pot lover in your life… Shipping and contact information (the boring bit!) All of the Chawan are priced at £160 and the postage is always at cost only…for a single piece within the UK approx. £6.00 1st class, £5.00 2nd class and to the USA approx..£12.00 but I will always seek the least costly option. There is no charge for packing. Please email me at philrogerspottery@gmail.com with the number or numbers to reserve your choice. I will deal with orders strictly in order of emails arriving and I apologise in advance if your first choice has already gone. I will update the catalogue with red dots as often as I can. If you would like further images please ask… Any bowl that doesn’t match up with expectation for whatever reason can be returned for an exchange or a refund providing it reaches me in good condition. You can also call me on (44) (0)7786 196 156 or (44) (0)1597 810875 if you prefer. I will endeavour to pack and send your choice to you as soon as I can…usually the same or next day. Payment can be with a cheque if you are in the UK or direct transfer. Paypal is also an option especially if you are overseas. I would ask you though to use the ‘FRIENDS AND FAMILY’ option otherwise the fees at this end can be high. The Goldmark Gallery also have some of my Chawan. Please see their website at www.goldmarkart.com In the USA the Schaller Gallery represent me. They are at www.schallergallery.com Other stockists include The Leach Pottery, St Ives Ceramics, Sylvester Fine Art and the Thackeray Gallery.
PHIL ROGERS, MARSTON POTTERY, LOWER CEFNFAES, RHAYADER, POWYS. LD6 5LT UK. Email: philrogerspottery@gmail.com Tel: 01597 810 875 or 07786 196 156
SOLD
1. An Ash glazed Chawan with hakeme and an incised decoration. I have used this decoration many times and of course it is different each time I draw it. It was first inspired by the bed of nettles outside my studio window and how, in late autumn, they die back and the stalks produce both straight lines and diagonals. Inside is elm ash glaze and outside is pine ash. 5.1 inches x 3.75 inches
2. An ash glazed Chawan with an impressed pattern. I have used this particular stamp now for more than 25 years. I have made others but none have quite matched it in my opinion. The glazes are elm on the inside and over the top of the outside. The olive coloured glaze is a mix of ash and an iron bearing stone from a nearby quarry. 4.75 inches x 3.5 inches
3. A Chawan with Tenmoku glaze and a finger wiped decoration. Inside is Nuka glaze. Nuka is an ash glaze high in silica and it is the silica content that lends to it the opaque quality and, often but not always, a bluish colour. I have coated the outside of the bowl with a thin slip made from local red clay before glazing. 6 inches x 3 inches.
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4.
A wood fired Chawan with an impressed pattern.
I developed a clay body for the wood kiln that would give me red and orange colours from the action of the flame and vapour without recourse to glaze. Based on the clays from Shigiraki in Japan. I also add feldspar chips to the mix. 5.75 x 3 inches
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5.
A Chawan with Hakeme and iron pigment brush decoration.
I have always had an interest in Korean pottery from the 15th and 16th centuries. Buncheong pottery was based upon three elements‌.dark clay, white slip and clear glaze. 6.25 x 3 inches.
6.
A wood fired Chawan with pine ash glaze and Nuka pours.
One can see on the left side that this piece must have been near to the fire as it passes from the firebox into the chamber. The action of alkaline vapours and wood ash have fluxed the surface of the clay and created a glaze contrasting beautifully with the red and orange of the clay on the leeward side. 4.6 inches x 3.25
SOLD 7.
A Chawan in Buncheong style. Impressed decoration. 5 inches at its widest x 3.25
8. A wood fired Chawan with pine ash glaze. I love the contrast between the green of the ash glaze and the toasted surface of the wood fired clay. Inside there are three pours of Nuka glaze. 6 inches x 3.25 inches.
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9.
A Chawan with tenmoku glaze outside and Nuka inside.
The contrasting red splashes are iron pigment laid on with a brush. The glaze has been wiped away around the foot ring to reveal a red clay background. 5 inches at its widest x 3.5 inches.
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10. A Chawan with hakeme and iron brush decoration. Hakeme requires to be carefree without being careless. The pattern needs to be natural, without hesitation and without too much conscious forethought. 4.5 inches x 3.75 inches
11. A wood fired Chawan with an impressed pattern. When I built the wood kiln I wanted to achieve subtle blushes of colour rather than the over ashed and ‘gritty’ look that some wood fires seek. This bowl has a side that was facing the flame as it entered the chamber from the fire box. The leeward side is a rich, orange colour, the effect of alkaline vapours upon the high alumina clay. 4.5 inches x 3 inches.
12. A Chawan with a wax resist pattern. Here, I have at first dipped the bowl into a white slip. Then, after the slip has dried a little, I paint the pattern with latex before dipping into a slip rich in iron oxide. After biscuit firing I have covered the bowl with an ash glaze both inside and out. 5.75 inches x 3.5 inches
13. An Ash Glazed Chawan with an incised pattern. I have incised the pattern through a coating of thick white slip. The fluid ash glaze has gathered in the hollows of the drawing and changed colour and texture thus highlighting the drawing. Inside is Elm ash glaze and outside an ash glaze which is a mix of local stone and ash. 4.5 inches at its widest x 3.8 inches.
14. A Chawan with Shino glaze. I use the ‘strap’ around the middle of the bowl both as a focal point and as a device that imparts the message to the viewer that this pot is made from what was, before firing, a plastic, malleable material. The intention is to convey the softness of the material. Wood fired. 4.75 inches x 3.5 inches.
15. A wood fired Chawan with Nuka glaze. Sometimes a bowl needs no more than a glaze and the effect of the fire. 5 inches x 3.5 inches.
SOLD 16. A Chawan with Tenmoku glaze. When my tenmoku glaze fires to its best it is a deep, rich black that breaks to red on ridges or rims. 6 inches x 3.5 inches.
17. A salt glazed Chawan. Here I have coated the bowl in a thin slip made from local red clay. Then, I use a large, soft brush to make brush strokes of thick white slip. The brush strokes need to be quick, spontaneous and without hesitation. 5.5 at its widest x 3.5 inches.
18. An ash glazed Chawan. The pattern was made with a clay stamp and the incised lines made during the throwing. Inside is elm ash glaze and outside pine ash. 5.5 inches x 4 inches.
19. A wood fired Chawan with a combed surface. I developed a clay body for the wood kiln that would give me red and orange colours from the action of the flame and vapour without recourse to glaze. Based on the clays from Shigiraki in Japan. I also add feldspar chips to the mix. 5.5 inches x 4 inches.
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20. A Wood fired Chawan. Faceting appears a lot in Korean ceramics and it was Korean pottery that so influenced both Leach and Hamada and faceting featured often in their work and in turn they influenced subsequent generations of potters similarly. Nuka glaze inside. 4.1 inches x 4 inches.
21. A wood fired Chawan with shino glaze. I have covered the bowl in a thin slip of local clay and then used a large, soft brush to apply white slip. Shino glaze fired in the wood kiln. 5.6 inches x 3.6 inches.
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22. An ash glazed Chawan with an incised and stamped pattern. Inside is my elm ash glaze and outside a glaze made with a mix of ash and stone dust from a local quarry. 4.5 inches at its widest x 3.75.
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23. A wood fired Chawan. My pine ash glaze, in combination with the effects of a wood fire can produce the most beautiful greens. I think that the effects of the fluctuating atmosphere veering from reduction to oxidation with every stoke may be the reason. Nuka glaze pours inside. 5 inches at its widest x 3.5 inches.
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24. A wood fired Chawan. I have applied sweeping strokes with a soft brush and thick white slip. Through the slip I have drawn a pattern of marks inspired by the bed of nettles outside the window immediately in front of me as I sit at my wheel. 5 inches at its widest x 3.75 inches.
25. A wood fired Chawan with pine ash glaze. I have applied small sprigs as decoration either side of the central ridge which provides both a focal point and an opportunity for the glaze to gather and change colour and texture as it rolls into a thicker edge. 4.75 inches x 3.5 inches.
26. Ash glazed and Wood Fired Chawan. The surface has been paddled during the throwing to imprint this net pattern. Having paddled the outside the form is then thrown from the inside only. Pine ash glaze over white slip. 5 inches x 4 inches.
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27. A Chawan with Hakeme. Gwiyal as it is known in Korea is the technique so admired by Japanese tea masters and came to be known in Japan as hakeme. Slip brushed on to the surface with a coarse brush usually made of rice straw with unconscious, unfettered freedom creating dynamic patterns. It was the total absence of ego and the unassuming and modest character they saw in the Korean rice bowls that the Japanese loved so much and rendered them perfectly suited to the spirit of the tea ceremony. 6 inches x 3 inches.
SOLD 28. An ash glazed Chawan with hakeme and an incised pattern. I have applied sweeping strokes with a soft brush and thick white slip. Through the slip I have drawn a pattern of marks inspired by the bed of nettles outside the window immediately in front of me as I sit at my wheel. 5.5 inches x 3.5 inches.
SOLD
29. A Chawan with hakeme and iron pigment brush decoration. Gwiyal as it is known in Korea is the technique so admired by Japanese tea masters and came to be known in Japan as hakeme. Slip brushed on to the surface with a coarse brush usually made of rice straw with unconscious, unfettered freedom creating dynamic patterns. It was the total absence of ego and the unassuming and modest character they saw in the Korean rice bowls that the Japanese loved so much and rendered them perfectly suited to the spirit of the tea ceremony. 4.5 inches x 4 inches.
30. A wood fired and faceted Chawan. I really like the contrast of the green of the pine ash glaze and the rich orange/ red of the wood fired clay body. 5 inches x 4 inches.
31. An ash glazed and paddled Chawan. Pine ash glaze outside and in with Nuka highlights. 4.75 inches x 3.5 inches
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32. A salt glazed Chawan. Hakeme with an incised pattern. The clay body is iron rich to contrast with the whiteness of the hakeme. To prevent the high alumina white slip becoming a tan or brown colour as a result of the salt glaze I have given the bowl a protective layer of thin shino glaze. 4.75 inches x 4 inches.
33. A wood fired Chawan. I think this bowl could be fairly described as a ‘summer’ bowl. In other words, the open shape allowed the contents to cool quicker than the more upright, enclosed shape known as a winter bowl. Inside is the pine ash glaze the ash for which comes from the fireboxes of the wood kiln. Nuka pours. 6.1 inches x 3 inches.
34. A Chawan with a rope impressed decoration. This glaze is a mix of wood ash and a stone dust from a local quarry. The stone dust is from an iron bearing rock known as Graywacke. Greywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness and dark colour, . The iron in the stone accounts for the olive colour of this glaze in contrast to my pine or elm ash glazes which are lighter in tone because there is less iron present in the glaze. 5.5 inches x 3.5 inches.
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35. Chawan with tenmoku glaze and Nuka glaze inside and over the rim. The tenmoku is placed over a thin coating of local red clay slip. At the base I have wiped the glaze away to reveal the red slip underneath. 6.1 inches x 3.5 inches.
36. An ash glazed Chawan with a central strap. Pine ash and elm ash glazes. 5.5 inches x 3.75 inches
SOLD
37. A Chawan with Nuka glaze. Nuka is the Japanese name for a glaze high in silica and woodash. It is the surfeit of silica that renders the glaze opaque and white. Depending on the ash and the form of silica used the glaze can be snowy white, cream and sometimes a blueish hue. In the east the silica is introduced with rice husk ash or Nuka hence the name of the glaze. In the west where rice husk ash isn’t available we use either quartz or flint. 4.8 inches x 3.5 inches.
38. A shino glazed Chawan. In my experience the feldspathic glazes known as Shino fire to their best in the wood kiln. The effects of the vapour rich atmosphere seem to enhance the richness of the colour and achieve a depth and variation that the reduction kiln doesn’t achieve. 4.75 inches x 3.75 inches.
39. A Chawan with a paddled pattern and shino glaze. Wood fired. 5 inches at its widest x 3.6 inches.
40. A wood fired and faceted Chawan. Nuka glaze inside. 5 inches x 3 inches.
This was the scene looking west from the pottery after last December’s snowfall. A very big thank you to everyone who has supported us this past year‌we really do appreciate your interest. Hajeong has now got a new studio so will be back making her beautiful pieces in the new year. So many people have asked when she will have new work and I think that there should be pieces available from early April. We wish everyone a very happy and peaceful Holiday and the best of New Years and we look forward to seeing you next year.
Phil, Hajeong and Ethan.