Japanese Dobin Teapot Cobalt Blue Wax Resist Lilies Rattan Handle Signed Lid

A Japanese dobin, a teapot with an overhead bail handle, the squat round body glazed in a deep brushed cobalt and decorated with lilies in cream and white reserved out of the blue. The domed lid has a turned knob and a steam hole, the short spout rises from the shoulder, and the bail is bound in split rattan wound tightly over a wire core and hooked into lugs at each side. The inner face of the lid carries a hand painted signature in blue.  The dobin is the everyday Japanese pot for coarse teas such as hojicha and bancha, distinct from the small side handled kyusu used for finer leaf. The overhead handle exists because a dobin is meant to be filled full and carried to the table, and the rattan binding is there so the hand never touches hot metal. The decoration is made by a resist: the lily shapes are masked before the cobalt is brushed on, so the pattern is revealed rather than painted, which is why the edges are soft and the blue pools slightly where the brush changed direction. The foot is left unglazed so the clay body shows.  Condition is very good. The pot and lid are intact with no chips or cracks found at the rim, spout or foot, the rattan binding is complete and tight with no unravelling, and the lid seats correctly. Light glaze pooling and kiln speckling are as made.  Shown beside a US quarter for scale; no rule measurement was supplied.