Brass Incense Burner

Born in Tokyo and a graduate of Tokyo Fine Arts School’s metal carving department, Nobuta Yo was a founding member of the Kojinsha group and shown at a government exhibition with the Existing Crafts Art Society (Jitsuzai Kogei Bijutsukai). After World War II, he lived in Chiba City and on the jury of the Nitten (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition). This incense burner is part of the Kitazume Collection, consisting of 356 modern metalwork pieces, donated by the late Kitazume Hideo. It applies metal carving techniques to a distinctive composition featuring a gradually curving group of rectangles. The work was shown at an exhibition of the Existing Crafts Art Society (Jitsuzai Kogei Bijutsukai), formed after the dissolution of the Mukei group, which advocated innovation in crafts. At the time craftspeople were seeking new modes of expression, abandoning traditional motifs such as phoenixes and flowers and embracing compositions featuring circles, squares and other geometric shapes, as seen in this work. (J.A.)