Nerikomi Seigo Star Birth Lid holder Suwa Sozan

Width: 6.1cm Height: 6.4cm

The "Nerikomi Seitan Lid Holder" is an extremely poetic and technically skilled piece that depicts the mystical moment when a star is born in the universe through layers of clay and the light of the glaze. This piece, among the "Nerikomi Seitan" series by Suwa Sozan IV, can be said to be a symbolic presence that connects the universe and the spiritual world of humans .

When a star is born, hydrogen gas and dust in outer space converge and eventually become a star that emits its own light. At the time of this birth, what can be observed through a telescope is the glow of a nebula clad in a pale red or pink light . Sozan expressed the colors of this moment with "red porcelain," captured the calm, silent abyss of the universe with "celadon and indigo porcelain," and added "white porcelain," which symbolizes human activities. By kneading the four colors of porcelain clay into the bowl, he crystallized the poetry of the heavens .

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Technique: The universe of "Kneading" using four-colored porcelain clay

This piece was created using the "nerikomi" technique, in which four colors of porcelain clay - white porcelain, celadon porcelain, blue porcelain, and red porcelain - are layered and shaped on a potter's wheel to form them into a single piece . This technique requires precise adjustment of the physical properties and shrinkage rate of each type of clay, and requires extremely high technical skill and a deep understanding of the materials .

During shaping, the layers of porcelain are twisted into a spiral shape by the rotation of the potter's wheel and the strength of the hands, creating a plastic drift where chance and control collide . It is a moment when the gravity of the universe and the vortex of a nebula seem to converse, and it is a moment when beauty beyond artifice emerges .

The glaze is transparent, allowing the layers of porcelain clay to appear as if they are blended together. Depending on the angle of the light, the crimson porcelain stands out strongly, while the blue porcelain glows softly from below. One of the charms of this piece is that the colors change every day, like stargazing .

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Design and Use: The Lid Rest, the "Star of the Tea Room"

A lid rest is a tool used in the tea ceremony to support the ladle or the lid of a tea kettle, but it is more than just an auxiliary tool; it also creates a sense of "ma" (space) during the tea ceremony .

A cylindrical lid rest like this one has an extremely neat and modern appearance . Its straight vertical form from the inside to the bottom brings about a sense of tension in the movements of the tea ceremony, while at the same time the undulations of the clay give it an organic, fluid feel .

When displayed on a shelf, it gives the impression of a floating planet , and when placed in a teapot, the small universe quietly appears in the tea room . When the ladle is held up during the tea ceremony, the stillness of this work placed there becomes a point of contact where the time of the universe and the time of the tea room intertwine .

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Colour and symbolism – pink nebulae, blue skies

The color composition in this work is not merely an aesthetic pursuit: it is a symbolic structure that expresses the red of the nebula, the blue of the galaxy, the white of the night sky, and the shadows of the universe .

The pale pink of the crimson porcelain is a nod to the visible light of hydrogen luminescence emitted at the moment a star is born, while the surrounding bands of celadon and indigo blue represent the silence and depth of outer space.The white porcelain seems to symbolize the gaze of a human being standing in such a landscape, or their presence as an observer.

This interplay and blending of colors represents cutting-edge aesthetic experimentation in contemporary celadon, and at the same time, in the context of tea utensils, is deeply connected to Japanese sensibilities such as seasonality and symbolism .

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Production and Philosophy - The Cosmology of Suwa Sozan IV

The fourth generation Sozan Suwa (born in Kyoto in 1970) has inherited the spirit of the revival of celadon from the first three generations, while also producing numerous works that combine contemporary plastic philosophy with poetic ideas on a cosmic scale .

Particularly in works like this one from the Nerikomi series, we can see a philosophical approach that goes beyond simply recreating tradition, reconstructing the relationship between humans and the universe, and between tools and nature .
What these works have in common is a philosophy and spirituality based on the teachings of her mother, the 12th Nakamura Sotetsu, that "a vessel should contain a story, a presence that quietly speaks to us."

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Conclusion: The intersection of tea ceremony and space

The Nerikomi Celadon Seitan Lidoki is a rare piece that brings a poetic vision of the creation of the universe into the intimate and beautiful space of the tea ceremony.
Although it is a lid rest, it is more than just a tool; it is a door that offers a glimpse into the vastness of the universe within the limited space of the tea room.

The act of projecting the grand scale of the birth of a star onto a small piece of porcelain that fits in the palm of your hand reminds us once again of the intrinsic power of ceramics, that is, its ability to quietly scoop up the essence of the world .