The jar with marbleized floral pattering is by Matsui Kosei (b.1927), a Kasama-bases artist who has the unusual distinction of having combined his career as a ceramist with that of being a Buddhist priest. The technique of marbleizing (neriage) originated in Tang period (618-906) China and was used extensively at the Cizhou kilns in Habei Province during the Song period. There is little history of its use in Japan until the twentieth century, when artists such as Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966) began to experiment with it. Matsui's interests, inspired primarily by Cizhou ware models, developed during the 1960s. He was encouraged to specialize in the technique by Tamura Koichi (1918-87; appointed Living National Treasure in1986) of Tokyo University of Arts, with whom he studied in the late 1960s.
Over the last twenty-five years Matsui has made a series of remarkable innovations using a rich palette of often vibrantly coloured clays. The work shown here is relatively restrained in its use of shades of blue, grey and cream, and the regularly disposed floral pattering is intricate without being overwhelming. Its smooth surface is more reminiscent of its historical prototypes than the rich textures of the works he produced until the mid-1980s. Matsui was made a Living National Treasure in 1993.