Masuko Emi

Japanese humor and chic
A ceramic object in the form of an enormous pepper painted in overglaze enamels, gold and silver, which Emi has entitled ‘Ornamental Pepper’. The Japanese characters in the title are a play on words. The first two characters meaning ‘overflowing with beauty’ are used to present the English word ‘Ornamental’ ; The second pair of characters represent Japanese word for pepper, togarashi, but the symbol usually used for to, 唐, is replaced by 陶, also pronounced to but meaning ‘ceramics’. The realistic shape of the pepper has been covered with a variety of patterns including, for example, the tie-dyed design of Japanese kimono fabrics. This elegant humorous pepper conveys a sense of Japanese chic.
55: Ornamental Pepper