takahashi Rakusai IV 四代 高橋楽斎 (*1925)

Tall Shigaraki tea caddy (chaire) with greenish-brown and black ash glaze, partly encrusted on the back. Despite the large impression of the body of the vessel, the chaire is elegantly shaped with slight distortions and cut lines below the pronounced shoulders and above the conical foot. The entire body is covered with small pieces of quartz sand that blossomed during firing (ishihaze). Especially on the darker part of the vessel, which was directly facing the fire in the kiln, some quite large pieces of flowering quartz stones provide a lively contrast to the natural ash glaze. The piece is signed "ra" (ら) on the bottom and comes with two silk bags (shifuku) and a matching, signed and sealed wooden box.

Takahashi Rakusai IV was born in Shigaraki in 1925 and is probably the most famous Shigaraki potter. The Takahashi family, along with the Ueda family, is the oldest pottery family in Shigaraki and is largely responsible for preserving the traditions, especially after World War II. Takahashi Rakusai IV succeeded his father, the third Takahashi, in 1976, who was declared an "Intangible Cultural Property" by the government, and then passed the tradition on to his son in 2010.

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