Anagama

Toshiko Takaezu, Anagama, ca. 1980s, glazed stoneware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2006.26.8
Toshiko Takaezu, Anagama, ca. 1980s, glazed stoneware, 39 5814 12 in. diam. irregular (100.536.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2006.26.8

Artwork Details

Title
Anagama
Date
ca. 1980s
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
39 5814 12 in. diam. irregular (100.536.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
glazed stoneware
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
2006.26.8

Artwork Description

One of Toshiko Takaezu's “closed forms,” the unseen interior cavity of this ceramic sculpture suggests the protected space of an egg. To create these forms, Takaezu threw a pot at her wheel, then coiled and hand built the clay into a nearly closed spheroid. She often placed pieces of paper and clay inside before firing that became rattling ceramic beads in the kiln.


Many species of birds, like ducks, communicate with each other before they hatch. They peep and click from inside their eggs to synchronize their emergence, preparing the family to leave the nest together. Like chattering eggs in a nest, Takaezu’s closed forms conjure new imaginings about the tenderness of home.


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (5 items)

Ida Josephine Burgess, Untitled (Seaside Town), not dated, watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Michael J. Ettner, 2021.88.30
Untitled (Seaside Town)
Datenot dated
watercolor on paper
Not on view
Untitled (Cottage Fireplace)
Datenot dated
watercolor on paper
Not on view

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Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
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Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
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