Vase with bird decoration by Tsuboi Yoshinori

Japan, late 20th or early 21st century.

Globular vase with a wide, rounded body and narrow opening, made of ceramic with an orange-brown surface. The decoration unfolds in a network of white diamonds arranged diagonally across the entire body. Each reserve features a stylized bird, treated as a light imprint on the warm background of the vase. The repetition of the motif creates a very lively rhythm without weighing down the form.

The piece relies on a simple and effective contrast: a full, almost spherical volume, and a bird decoration reduced to a sign. The birds are not depicted naturalistically. They appear as silhouettes printed in the diamonds, with a direct graphic style. The oblique pattern animates the surface and gives movement to a very stable form.

Tsuboi Yoshinori is a Japanese ceramist active in the field of contemporary traditional ceramics. He is a full member of the Nihon Kōgeikai, in the ceramics section and the Kinki branch. His work is extensively documented in the exhibitions of this association, with numerous participations in the Nihon Dentō Kōgei-ten, regional exhibitions, and specialized exhibitions of the ceramics section. In 1991, he received the President's Award from the Kinki branch of the Nihon Kōgeikai at the 20th Kinki Traditional Crafts Exhibition.

His decorative vocabulary is recognized by the repeated use of animal motifs, especially birds and fish. Several cataloged works bear titles similar to this one: tori-mon tsubo, vase with bird decoration, tori-mon hachi, bowl with bird decoration, uo-mon tsubo, vase with fish decoration. These motifs are treated as rhythmic signs on the surface, in a very controlled relationship between decoration and volume. A solo exhibition was dedicated to him at Osaka Takashimaya in 2023.

The mention of Shimizu Uichi, a Living National Treasure, as Tsuboi Yoshinori's master, also highlights the rigor of his work. Shimizu Uichi, recognized in 1985 for iron-glazed ceramics, was one of the great figures of modern Japanese ceramics. This lineage places Tsuboi in an environment attentive to material, firing, and formal integrity.

The vase is preserved with its signed tomobako. The inscription on the lid reads 鳥紋壺 / 義統作, meaning "vase with bird decoration / work by Yoshinori."

Dimensions: height 20 cm; width 23.5 cm.