Bizen sake cup

This Bizen sake cup is by Takashi Soga, an artist who challenges the aesthetic of antiquity by recreating the same environmental conditions under which Old Bizen pottery was fired. It is a stunning example of *hidasuki* (fire-cord) with a texture that is even more intense and rugged than his previous works—a hallmark of Soga-sensei, who shows rapid evolution with every kiln opening. The dark, iron-rich clay body features tiny, iron-flecked eruptions from the firing process, recreating the marbled, azuki-bean-colored earthen tone seen in antique Bizen *hidasuki* pieces with astonishing precision. Despite this, the tactile finish is exceptionally smooth and gentle, and combined with the worn, weathered appearance, it looks as though it has survived for hundreds of years. Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Diameter 8.5cm x 7.8cm x Height 3.6cm Takashi Soga was born in Tokyo in 1984. He studied under Jun Isezaki in 2009 and built his own kiln in Kuku-i, Bizen City, in 2012. He began his independent career as a potter in 2013.