Methuselah
The potter shapes the pot out of clay, the hollow is where the usefulness of the pot lies.
From LAOTSE – TAO TE CHING
Older than the art of bonsai is the art of shaping and firing. Earth and fire, the cosmic elements, combine with the potter and his work as the third element. In the early days of the human race the first pot must have been made, not as a work of art but as a means of survival. The archetype of the pot is the cupped hand, to collect water or to store food. This archetype is still reflected in the shape of our cups, plates and bowls today.
The symbol of the cupped hand that opens, keeps and protects corresponds with the task of the bonsai pot. It prevents the root ball from falling apart and the soil from drying out.
This pot is far more than 150 years old. It is evidence from ancient times.
Size: 70 cm x 43 cm x 30 cm (27 1/2 x 17 x 12 in)
In China, the original country of the century-old bonsai art, the first pots in which trees collected in the mountains were planted were ritual pots or water pots. As those pots had no drainage holes, the holes were later drilled into the pot’s bottom.
There is no written record when the potters in China had their first orders for the creation of bonsai pots. Very old Chinese pots give evidence that the change from ritual pots to bonsai containers was a slow process. Both were still religious objects. Unfortunately big numbers of those lovely pots have been destroyed during the cultural revolution. The few pots from those times that still exist are not used for plants anymore because of their great value, but are kept as witnesses of the past in museums or private collections.
Pot from the collection of Paul Lesniewicz
Photographs by: Bernd Braun
Translation: Heike van Gunst
About the Author
PERMANENT ATTEMPTS,
PERMANENT FAILURE.
NEVER MIND, TRY IT AGAIN.
BETTER FAIL.
This dictum by Samuel Beckett pervades my work to a great extent. It explains very
clearly how my creative work has developed.
At the beginning I made bonsai pots just for the joy of it and now it has been more
than 30 years since I got involved with the handcrafting and spiritual depth of pottery.
I was born in 1943, am married since 1965 and have two sons and four
granddaughters. After school and some “wild years” during which I tried several
professions I served an apprenticeship for offset printing. After 25 years of
professional experience I realized that the creativity, spontaneity and the art of colour
handling in the world of printing has come to an end because of the new technologies
and machinery.
In January 1993 I risked to back out of my secure position to a job that I hoped would give more quality to my and my family’s life. As my pottery hobby ran parallel to my professional life I can build on a longtime experience in pottery and try today to fathom the last depths of this handcraft.
Bonsai pots are the book of my pottery work, consisting of clay,
written with earth and fire.
Each single pot is a page of this book, which was so much fun for me to write.
These pots provide an insight into my work.
My other hobbies have also become a profession. These are the construction of Japanese gardens and being a fitness coach with special qualification for spinal health, Pilates, Flexibar, Step-Aerobic, Stretching and Maxxf.
http://www.peter-krebs.de/
http://www.bonsaipots.net/
http://www.bonsaischalen.info/
Article was ok, I would have liked to see some more information or even some examples of these ancient pots. The writing is good, but needs more content.