Bizen ware mortar sake cup

This is a Bizen mortar-style sake cup from Yoshinobu Morimoto's latest exhibition. It is part of a series inspired by the Muromachi period, when Bizen ware swept across Japan as everyday utility ware, prized for its robust aesthetic despite its emphasis on functionality. Reflecting the characteristics of that era, the production technique involves stacking coils of clay and connecting them on a potter's wheel, leaving the wheel marks and joints visible to create an unadorned, rustic form. In terms of firing, the artist consciously eschews a focus on "scenery" (kashiki), instead stacking the pieces in a way that mimics the haphazard firing methods of the past. As a result, the finish is refined and emphasizes the natural quality of the clay, offering a subdued appearance praised by wabi-tea practitioners as "hiekairu-mono" (a cool, withered beauty). Signed wooden box (shiho-san) included
Diameter 10.0cm x 9.3cm x Height 5.1cm

About the Yoshinobu Morimoto New Works Exhibition Yoshinobu Morimoto was born in Okayama Prefecture in 1976. He completed his studies at the Bizen Pottery Center in 1996. After working independently, he held his first solo exhibition in Tokyo in 2004. Since then, he has held annual solo exhibitions throughout the country, primarily in Tokyo. His work was selected for the Tanabe Museum of Art's "Tea Ceremony Sculpture Exhibition" in 2005, 2006, and 2007. He participated in the "Contemporary Sake Cup Exhibition" at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo in 2008, and the "Contemporary Tea Bowl Exhibition" at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo in 2009. He continues to hold solo exhibitions across Japan, including a featured exhibition at Tenmaya in Okayama in 2010.