Koichi Io piece added to the Victoria & Albert Museum

We are thrilled to say that this beautiful work by Koichi Io, Large copper boat vessel, 2021, H 18 x W 38.5 x D 29.5 cm, Patinated copper - has recently joined the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, thanks to a generous benefactor. 

The Victoria & Albert Museum have described the artist as being 'internationally known as one of the most technically competent and artistically ambitious makers of his generation'.

This work is made from a single sheet of copper, which is then hammer-raised. The beautiful red is created by the ni-iro (‘boiled-colour’) patination method which was historically used on sword fittings from the 17th to 19th century.

This Victoria & Albert Museum have said of this piece, 'It is not only a cutting-edge model of Japanese hammered-metalwork, but also a significant example which shows the contemporary adoption of the centuries-old patination technique.'