Vintage Japanese Mashiko Mingei Hamada School Stoneware Plate c1970 Persimmon Turquoise 11"W

Japanese Mashiko-yaki (益子焼) mingei stoneware plate, Oribe-style copper blue-green with persimmon branhc iron resist glaze-pool composition, Showa period

Japan; Showa period, mid-to-late 20th century

A large Mashiko-yaki (益子焼) stoneware plate of exceptional visual presence, the face covered in a deep Oribe-style (織部) copper green crackle glaze interrupted by a bold abstract composition in iron resist: large pooling areas of aubergine-brown separated from the green field by flowing dark iron lines, the forms suggesting petals, a flower head, or an abstracted natural form depending on the viewing angle. The composition is entirely non-representational in the conventional sense — no identifiable subject is depicted — yet it carries an undeniable organic logic, as if the glaze itself has found a natural pattern in the firing. The crackle runs continuously across both the green and brown glaze zones, unifying the surface. The reverse is unglazed with a wide foot ring in the sandy Mashiko clay body.

This plate represents the furthest point along the spectrum from representation toward pure material expression within the mingei (民芸) tradition — a direction that Hamada Shōji (濱田庄司) explored extensively in his mature work and that became increasingly prominent in Mashiko studio production through the latter Showa period. The abstract glaze-pool format asks the viewer to engage with the ceramic surface as a landscape in itself, the interaction of copper green, iron brown, and the kiln atmosphere producing a result that could not have been fully predicted or controlled — which is precisely the point.

• Form: Mashiko-yaki stoneware plate, broad well, wide foot ring
• Glaze: Oribe-style copper green crackle with aubergine-brown iron resist persimmon motif glaze-pool composition
• Mark: None visible
• Period: Showa, mid-to-late 20th century
• Dimensions: 12″W (30.5 cm)
• Condition: Crackle glaze consistent with Oribe-style production; glaze pooling at rim consistent with folk kiln production; no chips or cracks noted. Please see photos for details.