A FINE MAKUZU KOZAN STUDIO WHITE PORCELAIN OKIMONO OF TOBA ON HIS MULE Studio of Makuzu Kozan (1842-1916), sealed Makuzu Japan, 20th century Finely modeled with a Hirado-white glaze, the immortal sitting atop his mule, his hands folded and enveloped in his robe as he looks off to the right. The mule walking surefooted, its head bowed and ears pricked. Sealed to the base with the artist’s seal MAKUZU. LENGTH 18.3 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: The Kura, Kyoto, Japan. Collection of James and Christine Heusinger, acquired from the above. James and Christine Heusinger started collecting Japanese art in the late 1970s. James and Chirstine worked for a travel agency until James became a prominent carpenter, whose company renovated the office of US Vice President Dick Cheney’s office. His collection began with a modest piece by Seifu Yohei III, and expanded into over 100 pieces. They donated the majority of their pieces to the Cleveland Museum of Art, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. With an inscribed wood tomobako storage box. Makuzu Kozan (1842-1916), also known as Miyagawa Kozan, was a potter who moved his ceramics studio from his hometown of Kyoto to the port city of Yokohama in 1870. His early works copying styles and forms derived from earlier Japanese and Chinese ceramics soon found favor with Western buyers and his business quickly expanded. Kozan’s work was also much admired within Japan and achieved special notoriety after the Meiji Emperor touched one of his vases at the First National Industrial Exhibition in 1877.