Bizen Guinomi

This is a newly kiln-fired Bizen sake cup by Mashiro Aiga, an artist who creates works that are uncompromisingly direct and full of character. Among the many Bizen ware potters, Mashiro Aiga may well be the only one to have mastered the "haikaburi" (ash-covered) kiln transformation to this extent. The ash coating displays an incomparable level of firing, resulting in a texture reminiscent of a rocky reef, which, when combined with a sleek, lustrous quality, evokes the scenery of exploring a coastal cave. An "Aiga-style botan-mochi" (peony cake) design is placed in the interior, and as the fired, deep purple surface is moistened with sake, it exhibits a rich, mellow shimmer so vivid it creates the illusion that the color of the clay itself is bleeding into the drink. Signed box (shiho-zan) included.
Diameter 8.7cm x Diameter 7.9cm x Height 5.0cm Mashiro Aiga graduated from the Okayama Prefectural Bizen Pottery Center in 1997. In 2003, he built a fully underground anagama kiln in Sabo. The following year, in 2004, he built a second semi-underground anagama kiln and continues to dedicate himself to his craft.