26361 Kanjiro Kawai Polychrome Tobacco Container with Chariot Design (Made in 1922, exhibited at Kankei-kan) KAWAI Kanjiro

Height: 8.8 cm
Diameter: 9.7 cm

This is a work by Kanjiro Kawai, a master who, alongside Soetsu Yanagi and Shoji Hamada, who represent the Japanese folk craft movement, and Kenkichi Tomimoto and Tatsuo Kuroda, who represent modern Japanese crafts—all giants whose names continue to be spoken today—helped lay the foundation of the Japanese folk craft movement and played a central role in it. He pioneered new frontiers in modern ceramics with a robust yet rustic style that pursued the "beauty of use," earning international acclaim, including the Grand Prize at the Milan International Exhibition, and is a leading figure in Japanese folk crafts.

This is a magnificent piece modeled after Chinese ceramics. Similar works are featured in catalogs, and this piece was exhibited at a solo exhibition at Takashimaya.

Documents indicate that the various events from 1921 to 1923 were crucial turning points that shaped Kanjiro Kawai into the artist he became.