Less Than Perfect

Less Than Perfect

An Old Form in a New Place

Raibachi
  • Large bowl
  • Okuda Eizan (b. 1944)
  • Stoneware with natural ash glaze
  • Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, 2005
  • Gift of the artist, UMMA 2010/1.209
Map

Although modeled after a type of grinding bowl traditionally used in rural farmhouses, this contemporary bowl form is more likely to be used for handwashing at the entrance of a tea room. The artist, from a family of potters renowned for tea ceramics, uses subtle variations in form, color, and surface treatment to create the rustic simplicity of the wabi sabi aesthetic.