Bizen Yunomi

This Bizen tea cup is by Takashi Soga, who challenges the beauty of antiquity by recreating the same environment in which Old Bizen pottery was fired. To replicate the style of the Old Bizen period, he avoids the use of firebricks and other modern materials, firing in a kiln where modern thermal efficiency standards do not apply. Consequently, the work transcends contemporary aesthetics, displaying an exquisite "tsuchiaji" (taste of the clay) that approaches that of authentic Old Bizen. The kiln itself is constructed of clay, akin to firing pottery within pottery, and it is said that the character of the clay changes with every firing. In this piece, the gold-colored *hidasuki* (fire-cord) markings are even more vivid than before, with platinum-like *hidasuki* draped across a silvery base. While works with such gold-hued *hidasuki* can often have a somewhat sharp texture, this piece is wonderfully soft and delicate to the touch, a hallmark of Soga's craftsmanship. No box
Diameter 7.8cm × 7.7cm × Height 9.6cm Takashi Soga was born in Tokyo in 1984. He studied under Jun Isezaki in 2009 and built his own kiln in Kugu, Bizen City, in 2012. He became independent and began his career as a ceramic artist in 2013.