*THIS ITEM WEIGHS 3600 GRAMS WITHOUT PACKAGING, PLEASE SCROLL TO THE END OF THIS LISTING FOR SHIPPING DETAILS AND UPGRADES.

This listing is for a LARGE Mashiko-ware vase made around 50 years ago by Kato Gama.  It is wheel-thrown and made of high-fired stoneware.  The front is decorated with a hand-painted landscape scene over a white glazed background.  The rim is trimmed with an iron based glaze and the opening is wide enough to accommodate a decent sized arrangement of flowers.  Vases likes these look particularly beautiful with just a single branch of blossoms like plum or peach.  It comes with its original signed wooden storage box.  There’s also a Mashiko sightseeing pamphlet in the box, and it mentions opening a new pottery area by Showa 53, which is 1978.

Kato Gama is a noborigama climbing kiln located in the Hagi-gun district in Mashiko town.  Kato Gama also has a workshop called Kato Seitojo that holds classes for visitors.  They are part of a pottery collaborative and they produce a wide variety of items such as tableware, vases, sake sets and chawan, although large tsubo vases seem to be their specialty.  All pieces are hand-painted and fired at 1300 degrees Celsius.  **Fellow sellers, this information was researched by Kominka Zakka and CANNOT be used in your own listings.

Mashiko-ware is pottery produced in the area around Mashiko in Tochigi prefecture. It began in the mid-1800s after good quality clay was found in the local area. There was a large demand for everyday cooking vessels in Tokyo so the number of workshops in Mashiko expanded and many craftsmen took up the trade. In the early 1900s Shoji Hamada took Mashiko-ware to a whole new level when he began promoting the folk art movement. Mashiko-ware is probably best known for its brown glazes along with splashes of red, black, green or white.                                                                                   

Sizes

Box:  H.30.4cm (11.9”) x 23cm (9”) x 23cm (9”)

Vase:  H.26.5cm (10.4”) x 16.5cm (6.4”) across x 10cm (3.9”) diameter rim                            

Condition

It’s in very good condition with no chips or cracks.                                                               

THESE ARE SHIPPING ESTIMATES BASED ON THE CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION                                                                 

**Germany, France, Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia:  NO SHIPPING.  Very strict and expensive packaging laws in place and we are not licensed to send products to these countries.  We have no plan to register at this time because the process is in some cases very expensive and complicated, plus each country has its own set of regulations and application process. 

**USA: SAL Sea Mail (approx. 11-12 weeks), an upgrade for EMS Express (10-15 days) available for an additional 10,200 yen. Combined shipping available (please send us a message) but please note that the price does not get cheaper for Airmail or EMS, in fact it becomes more expensive. If you want to save money and don't mind a very long 3 month wait, request sea mail (11-12 weeks depending on processing and backlogs at destination ports).

**UK , Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway: SAL Sea Mail (approx. 8-12 weeks depending on the destination), an upgrade for EMS Express (10-15 days) available for an additional 8550 yen. Combined shipping available (please send us a message) but please note that the price does not get cheaper for EMS, in fact it becomes more expensive. If you want to save money and don't mind a very long 3 month wait, request sea mail (11-12 weeks depending on processing and backlogs at destination ports).

**Asia: SAL Sea Mail (approx. 6-8 weeks), an upgrade for EMS Express (7-10 days) available for an additional 3650 yen.

**Russia:  No shipping methods available.