White Multifaceted Vase reflects Mori Togaku’s highly sculptural approach to ceramic form. Built from carefully articulated planes, the vessel rises with crisp facets that catch and redirect light, giving the impression of a form delicately folded, almost like paper. The pale, matte stoneware surface softens the geometry, allowing subtle shadows to define each angle and seam. While designed with the silhouette of a functional vessel, the form prioritizes structure and balance, combining stability, tension, and symmetry to achieve a quiet, architectural complexity.
The vessel was created circa 1990, a period when Togaku was heavily engaged with geometric, multi-faceted (mentori) vessels. While globally renowned for using his monumental Kanpu Great Kiln to resurrect ancient, unglazed Bizen techniques, the “inaugural year” (gannen) inscription on the piece’s storage box indicates it was part of a landmark experiment. Togaku likely utilized a dedicated zone or specialized chamber within the 53-meter kiln to test how this avant-garde white clay body (shirotsuchi) would vitrify under the intense, multi-week heat of a massive wood firing.
