Vase by Hosono Hitomi
- Audio guide stop: 594
- Gallery: Room 93
- Maker: Hosono Hitomi
- Culture: Heisei Era
- Made in: London (England)
- Date: 2013
- Object type: bowl
- Materials: porcelain
- Museum number: 2013,3010.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is "Vase by Hosono Hitomi," an extraordinary porcelain bowl from the Heisei Era, crafted in 2013 in London. This large bowl is decorated with a thousand individually attached leaves, each made using a sprig mould inspired by real leaves. The leaves are carefully positioned to create a sense of stillness and movement as if gently swaying.
Each leaf was attached using chopsticks, a meticulous process that took the artist over six months to complete. Hosono Hitomi is a Japanese ceramic artist trained in Japan and later in Europe, blending traditional techniques with a contemporary vision inspired by nature.
The shape of the bowl echoes ancient Middle Jomon flame pots, bridging Japanese history with modern artistry. It was displayed at COLLECT in 2013 and is a striking example of transnational artistic expression.
See it in person
Vase by Hosono Hitomi is on display in Room 93 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 594, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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