Late 20th century, ash glazed stoneware, moon shaped bottle having an impressed spiral rope pattern inlaid with slip and red and blue birds in overglaze enamels, short neck with bottle mouth, unglazed foot rim, artist's mark to underside.

10 in.

Collection of Ambassador and Mrs. Leonard Woodcock

Gift from the Artist.

Tatsuzo Shimaoka lived and worked in Mashiko, a town in Japan renowned for its pottery traditions. Originally, Shimaoka studied pottery at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and then served as an apprentice under the revered pottery artist Shoji Hamada (1894-1978). In 1953, he established his own kiln and complex in Mashiko and worked along with the Tochigi Prefecture Ceramic Research Center to develop more innovative and distinctive style techniques, like his signature rope inlay decoration. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Shimaoka traveled the world showcasing his ceramics and receiving many awards for his distinguished work and contributions to traditional Japanese folk art. He was given the great honor of being named a Japanese Living National Treasure in 1996.
Shimaoka's work can be found in some of the most notable museums worldwide, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and the Tokyo Folk Art Museum. Recently, pieces have been accepted into collections of the museum at the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

From the collection of Ambassador and Mrs. Leonard Woodcock. They lived in China from 1977 to 1981 and continued to visit frequently until 1996. Ambassador Woodcock negotiated normalization between the United States and China with leader Deng Xiaoping, and was then selected to be the first U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.

Very good estate condition.