Japanese Studio

Just bought this from ebay , anybody recognize this impressed mark ?

It's only about 5" High in the style of Aki Moriuchi

I was looking at it but didn't bid, as I didn't recognise the mark.

It looks familiar but that could be because of the Aki-like shape.

Ah well, at the worse Iv'e only lost £16

You're sounding about as negative as I usually do.

If I had bought it I would have done so to re-sell and to do that I would have had to have known who it was by, as no-one is likely to pay very much for a piece that someone they see as an expert in such things can't identify.

However your situation is different, as you are seen as someone who sells interesting items, so I believe that in virtually ever situation you would be able to achieve more for it than I would if you tried to sell it as by an "unknown Japanese potter".

That aside I still think that it might be identifiable.

What you say is absoloutely true John , I was being a little flippant with the Thud Smiley , £12 + £4 p+P , it would appear to be a good buy and of course it's to re sell at a later date so yes it will be easier for me , obviously if a name arises that would be great if not I'll bum it up a little , sell it at a better time alongside other studio stuff and hopefully make a little profit , deffo an Aki influence of sorts don't you think ?

It's probably something that influenced Aki, as she learnt to pot only after coming to the UK. Purely by chance I've just received an email from Aki, as we keep in touch. I'll see if she has any ideas.

Thanks ,I'd be very interested to hear her thoughts .

I asked Aki and she wasn't able to be of any great help but this is what she wrote,

"I've never seen it before. When I looked at the bottle form, I thought it was very similar to my 'past', and wondered if it was mine. With a closer look, I don't think it is. The glaze is different, (much smoother) and the finish of the base don't look my way. Looks some sort of ash glaze? More traditional way of firing? But the shape looks similar to my bottle I was making before, ( but heavier feeling due to the dense texture
of the glaze, maybe..) From the base, you can see it is a heavily grogged body.

I cannot read clearly the stamp on the base. It must be two Kanji (Chinese characters), but it is difficult to read from the image, and so I don't know who did it."

From experience and asking other Japanese people over the years, reading impressed Kanji marks is virtually impossible, unless you are familiar with a potter and their work.

and yes there is a lot of bargain on ebay i most admit, you lose some and you win some always look forward to the winning days :).... if the right buyer isn't there at that point in time your item might not even make what you paid for it but if the right buyer is there you might be surprise how much it will fetch

Thanks for enquiring John and thanks to Aki for her reply , guess I'll never know the maker , but the fact she even thought it might have been one of hers bodes quite well , I believe it is ash glaze , it is a light piece not much else to say really , Thanks again , Ed