Rago Auctions

Renowned Japanese ceramic artist Kataro Shirayamadani, also referred to as Kitaro Shirayamadani, was born in Tokyo in 1865. His name, which translates to "White Mountain Valley," would eventually be shortened to "Sherry" by his friends during his extended time in America. However, he began his career as a painter of porcelain while still in Japan. Upon moving to the United States, Shirayamadani first settled in Boston and worked at the Fujiyama porcelain decorating workshop.

In 1886, Shirayamadani had a fateful encounter in Boston with Maria Longworth Nichols Storer, the visionary founder of Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati. Impressed by Shirayamadani's abilities, Nichols hired him to join her team at Rookwood in May 1887. Before long, Shirayamadani distinguished himself as an artist of exceptional talent and dedication. He achieved international recognition when a vase he created won a grand prize at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. This remarkable Black Iris glaze vase with roses found a permanent home in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection in 1901, where it still resides today.

One of Shirayamadani's distinctive contributions was his work on table lamp bases, which were often paired with stained glass shades crafted by Tiffany Studios. Notably, one of these exquisite lamps is now part of the collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Shirayamadani was also particularly adept at electroplating pottery with copper, silver, and occasionally gold. This includes a Black Iris glaze vase with cranes, now in the collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum, featuring both silver and copper electroplating. It is the most expensive piece of Rookwood Pottery ever sold at auction, realizing $350,000 at Cincinnati Art Galleries.

Shirayamadani died in Cincinnati in 1948, but his legacy as a ceramic artist continues to grow, with his works commanding increasingly higher prices at auction. Collectors admire his graceful fusion of Eastern and Western stylistic motifs. Shirayamadani's impact on the field of ceramics and pottery decoration endures, making him one of the most accomplished and revered artists ever to grace Rookwood Pottery. Additional works by Shirayamadani are today held by several other important institutions, including the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, the Mint Museum in Charlotte, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, and the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement in St. Petersburg.