Today we’ll take a second look at the work of Echizen Hosui, and take a look at the subtle difference between a Copy, a Forgery, and an Homage. For our first look at Hosui, you can look back here:
Echizen Hosui
Echizen Hosui was born Zenzo Yoshida in Fukui prefecture in 1936, and began making bonsai containers in 1974. It’s quite clear from his work that idolizes many of the greatest artists of Bonsai pottery, including Tofukuji, Yusen, and Aiso. Today we’re going to take a look at some containers that are marked as Hosui, and some that were made by Hosui, but marked as the work of Tofukuji. I don’t think these containers were meant to be forgeries, as enough clues were left for the discerning eye to distinguish them as copies. However, every pottery collector should be aware that such copies exist, and be able to distinguish between…