Full Moon

Toshiko Takaezu, Full Moon, 1978, stoneware and glaze, 27 ³⁄₄ x 29 ¹⁄₂ in. (70.5 x 74.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase and gift of the James Renwick Alliance, 1989.36.2

Artwork Details

Title: Full Moon
Artist: Toshiko Takaezu
Date: 1978
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 27 ³⁄₄ x 29 ¹⁄₂ in. (70.5 x 74.9 cm.)
Credit Line: Museum purchase and gift of the James Renwick Alliance
Mediums: stoneware
Mediums Description: stoneware and glaze
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Subjects: Abstract
Allegory — place — extraterrestrial
Object Number: 1989.36.2
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1989.36.2

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.

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