Vase with flower design

草花文壺
草花文壶
초화문병

This orderly shaped metal vase is produced by employing the hammering technique. A metal sheet is placed on an anvil and hammered from the other side into the shape of a vase. From the Meiji period onwards, as hammering boasted brilliant techniques, the shape could be formed from a single sheet of metal. However, instead of employing a single sheet, Mitsui Asoo revived the joining technique which existed from ancient times. He could have made the joints invisible, but here, he deliberately emphasizes them as horizontal lines and substitutes them as decorative designs. Emphasis on joining served as a guide to the students bearing the future of the hammering technique. The students who studied under Mitsui at Tokyo University of the Arts played a key role in turning hammering into a field of metal art in which it is possible to create huge three-dimensional works, and one after another sculptor active not only in the world of crafts but also open-air sculpture appeared.