Mizusashi Japanese Water Container By Kazuo Kashima - Japan

Mizusashi, tea ceremony water vessel with gold and silver inlay by Kashima Kazuo (born 1958). A striking geometric pattern of hammered gold is inlaid into the metal surface of this silver-lined freshwater pot for use in the tea ceremony.

Japan, circa 1990, 20x 15,6cm.
With its original box signed by the artist.

The technique known as Nunome Zogan imitates the texture and patterns of textiles through metal inlay, where fine vertical and horizontal grooves are engraved into the metal. Thin sheets of gold, silver, or lead are then inlaid into these grooves. The intersecting grooves resemble the weave of the fabric, which is believed to be the origin of the name "Nunome Zogan" (textile pattern inlay). The first-generation master Kashima developed a unique Japanese variant of the Nunome Zogan technique. This version, called Kashima Nunome, was specially adapted to traditional Japanese colored metals such as shakudo (a copper-gold alloy with a black patina) and shibuichi (a silver-copper alloy). In Tokyo, the Kashima family was considered the leading authority on Nunome Zogan. Kazuo Kashima is the fifth-generation head of the Kashima family. Born in 1958, the second son of Japanese-style painter Hiroyuki Hiraide, he studied directly under his grandfather, Living National Treasure Kashima Ikkoku, the fourth-generation head of the family, and Kazuo carries on the Kashima tradition. In recent years, he has held exhibitions and workshops abroad (including in the United States and China). He was a central figure in the 2020 Takaoka Art Museum exhibition on contemporary metal art, held at the National Museum of Modern Art (Kokuritsu Kogei Kan), and is recognized as one of Japan's leading metal artists.