11x9x3.5 Inch Gyouzan Rectangle Bonsai Pot #326 – Kiribako Box, Unglazed, Nail Signed

An unglazed rectangle from the Gyouzan kiln, nail signed, and it still has its kiribako box and cloth. The box is not packaging. A kiribako is a fitted paulownia wood case, and paulownia is used because it breathes and resists damp, so the pot inside is protected without being sealed in. A pot that has kept its box has usually passed through hands that understood what they were holding.

The pot itself is a clean example rather than an eccentric one, and it is in pristine condition. Where the kiln is often remembered for shapes that lean and buckle, this one simply shows how well Gyouzan's forms were put together. The nail signature is what separates his handmade work from the kiln's production pots, and on a piece this correct it is the detail that settles the question.

At 11 by 9 inches and 3.5 inches deep this is a middle-sized pot. That depth suits a tree whose roots are established rather than one still filling out, and the warm unglazed clay recedes behind the tree, which is what the kiln built these to do. With the kiribako it also stores and travels the way it was meant to.