{"product_id":"japanese-mingei-mashiko-teapot-by-minigawa-masu-c1920-with-bernard-leach-letter","title":"Japanese Mingei Mashiko teapot by Minigawa Masu c1920, with Bernard Leach letter","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSize:  Max length to end of spout 20 cm. Height with lid on 14.5 cm.  A large teapot.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eCondition: End of spout broken (about 6mm is missing), a crack across the lid, which has been glued, a small piece of the lid flange missing, and a graze to the glaze on the knop of the lid. Otherwise, very good condition, some crazing as expected.  The cane handle is new (most photos are taken without it).\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThis type of teapot was made is large quantities in Mashiko, a town in Japan, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but not many have survived owing to their fragility and the fact they were made to be used. Those that do survive are often damaged or incomplete as here.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eWhat makes this teapot particularly special is that it was certainly painted by Minigawa Masu (1874-1960), the most famous painter of these teapots, who rose to fame during the early Mingei movement in Japan.  Masu Minagawa was highly acclaimed by Soetsu Yanagi (1889-1961), the founder of the Mingei Movement, and Shoji Hamada, who promoted pottery within it.  She also worked personally with another famous exponent of the Mingei movement, Bernard Leach.  The hand painted Mashiko teapots were held out as a beacon of Mingei production by the \"unknown artisan\", although clearly some of the makers, including Masu, Hamada and Leach, became extremely well known.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAccompanying this teapot is a letter dated 1961 from Leach to its former owner, stating that the teapot is \"undoubtedly\" painted by Masu Minigawa, which he can confirm by the fact that he had all her patterns painted for him on paper.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe teapot is made in earthenware clay with the depression on the base which was characteristic of these teapots and which Leach explains avoids a tendency for them to crack while drying (the potting is very thin).  It is then covered in a white slip onto which the abstract landscape designs have been painted in manganese and green oxides.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eSansui (landscape-decorated) earthenware teapots were widely produced in Mashiko during the late Edo period (1603 - 1868) and on into the early Showa period (1926 - 1989). In 1938, a sansui earthen teapot which Masu Minagawa had decorated gained international recognition by winning first place at the First International Craft Exhibition in Berlin. She was recognized by Tochigi Prefecture in 1960 as someone who had performed distinguished service in the interest of a field of Japanese culture.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Chester's Farm Gallery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53372482453841,"sku":null,"price":360.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1032\/4312\/0977\/files\/MinigawaMasuwithhandle.jpg?v=1786274313","url":"https:\/\/chestersfarmgallery.com\/products\/japanese-mingei-mashiko-teapot-by-minigawa-masu-c1920-with-bernard-leach-letter","provider":"Chester's Farm Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}