AOKI MOKUBEI (1767-1833) A large celadon-glazed Japanese stoneware handwarmer (tebachi or teburi) for use in the sencha tea ceremony, in the form of a crouching shishi (Buddhist protective lion-dog), a removable pierced celadon-glazed cover (now cracked and lacquer-restored) set into its back. The incised inscription underneath dates the potting to the spring of 1818 and signs it Mokubei zo, made at the Awata kiln in Eastern Kyoto, with two impressed seals of the artist, Kokikan and Mokubei. Mokubei founded the Awata kiln in 1808 for Prince Shoren'in. << Preview