Ueda Naokata VI 六代 上田直方 (*1957)
Vase with Rare Glaze and Handles
An unusual flower vase with handles (mimitsuki) by Ueda Naokata VI (Ueda Mitsuharu). At first glance, this vase appears to be a classic Shigaraki beauty, but it has some rare characteristics. It was made of dark clay that turned a deep purple during firing. The amber-colored ash glaze covers the upper part around the mouth, the shoulders and the handles. Three long streams of glaze run down the sides of the vessel, one of which turns emerald green as it approaches the base of the vase and ends in an extraordinary clear green glaze drop. The dark clay and the specific color of the glaze seem to be a transition between the specific materiality of Tanba pottery and a classical Shigraki form. On the box's inscription, Naokata VI simply calls it a "yōhen hanaire", or "flower vase with kiln mutation". A very rare masterpiece.
Ueda Mitsuharu was born in 1957 in Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture. He began to study Tanba pottery in 1975 and became interested in traditional Shigaraki works in 1979. As a promising talent, he was adopted by Ueda Naokata V, whom he succeeded as official Ueda VI in 2010. He is a full member of the Nihon Kōgei Kai and the Shigaraki Tōyō-kai.
The vase is stamped underneath Mitsuharu and comes with fitted, inscribed, signed and sealed wooden box.