Japanese ceramic Suzuki Tomio (born in 1948) specializes in Shino ware. In 2003, he successfully developed Yohen-kin or transformed gold Shino, an opulent and golden glaze which led to a number of luster glazes in the artist’s growing body of work. Inspired by the golden tea ceremony room in Osaka Castle commissioned by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) where honored guests were served tea from a glittering bowl coated with pure gold, it took the artist nearly a decade of experimentation and refinement to achieve the glaze while strictly adhering to traditional shino making techniques.
This set of five Yohen-kin plates displays a lustrous transformation. Signed on the bottom of plates. With original wrap cloth and the storage tomobako box entitled and signed by the artist in Kanji, with additional red seal. The size of the plates is about 6" x 6.125 slight irregular by nature. The storage box is 5-1/8 x 8-1/4 x 8-1/4 inches.
Many of Suzuki Tomio's shino pottery were held in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.