Bizen Blue-Glazed Sake Cup

This is a Bizen Aisai (indigo glaze) sake cup by Matsui Koyo, who also mentored younger generations as an instructor at the pottery center. While Aisai glaze displays various expressions depending on the location and temperature, this piece features a slightly subdued, darker shade of indigo. The indigo has a faint luster, allowing the delicate shifts in color and the wheel marks on the vessel itself to stand out more clearly. It is filled with inexhaustible charm, including the generously applied sesame glaze and a mysterious kiln-transmutation that has turned vermilion. Original box to follow (please allow some time for shipping)
Diameter 6.4cm x Diameter 6.1cm x Height 5.7cm Matsui Koyo entered the Kyoto Municipal Institute of Ceramics in 1949, where he studied all aspects of pottery. After working for five years at the Kumamoto Prefectural Industrial Research Institute, he returned to Kyoto to study under Morino Kako, a Kiyomizu-yaki artist and Nitten exhibition judge. In 1960, while still in training, he was invited by the then-Governor of Okayama Prefecture, Yukiharu Miki, to join the Ceramics Guidance Center at the Okayama Prefectural Industrial Research Institute. He devoted his efforts to training young artists before resigning as director in 1978 to become independent.
His firing techniques are based on natural glazes and shiso-red hues. Drawing on his experience as a Kyo-yaki artist, he also produces vibrant Bizen ware using unique techniques such as "neriage" (marbled clay created by kneading two types of clay together), as well as gold, silver, and indigo glazes.
Became a regular member of the Japan Kōgei Association in 1969. Designated as a Holder of Okayama Prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1996. Exhibited at the Bizen Ware Paris Exhibition in 1997. Awards include the Kaneshige Toyo Prize, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Award, Okayama Prefecture Cultural Encouragement Award, Sanyo Shimbun Prize, and many others / Prefectural Exhibition Juror.