British Museum acquires Okinawan pottery

“Youhentenbi Tenmoku” and “Hekikaiyutei Tenmokucyawan”, highest-grade tea bowls made by 56-year-old potter Haruhiko Kaneko, the owner of Ishigakiyakigama pottery studio in Nagura, Ishigaki City, has been added to the permanent word ceramics exhibition in the British Museum. Kaneko is the second ceramic artist from Okinawa whose work has been added to the collection next to Isamu Nakamura from Nago City.

Kaneko created “Youhentenbi” in 2010, and it’s known for its vivid jewelry-like colors. “Hekikaiyutei” is a piece made using a special reproduced glaze made with a technique from a thousand years ago and has a texture of old iron.

Both bowls exhibit Kaneko’s trademark combination of glass and pottery, which results in vivid gradated hues of blue that expresses the Okinawan ocean. The museum introduced the bowls into its collection on Sep. 20.

Kaneko said, “It’s a great honor. The exhibition promotes Ishigaki Island and Yaeyama to visitors from all over the world.”

08:02 29 Mar , 2024