Pot with straw-rope patterns, oribe type
Okabe Mineo 1919-1990
Okabe Mineo was born into a family trading in the pottery tool in Seto. He learnt pottery helping his family business. After the War, he decided to become a professional potter . He developed his repertoire of traditional styles of Seto ware and ash glazed or iron glazed pottery. Jōmon pots in Oribe or Shino style inspired by Jōmon pottery of ancient Japan applying rope pattern to accentuate the clay texture and his bottle vases with amber or ash glaze are among the boldest series of his work. Later he mastered celadon wares by studying celadon wares of Song Dynasty China (960-1279) to bring them to perfection. His celadon stoneware such as Funseiji (blue crackled) and Suiseiji (green crackled) are both endowed with a velvety textural beauty. His yellow c rackled Beishokuseiji was considered as a revival of Guan ware or Longquan celadon of Song Dynasty , by which Mineo’s unique celadon world reached to its highest sophistication.
w36.2×d37.8×h45.8 cm
1964
Private Collection