Bizen ware mortar-style sake cup

This is a Bizen mortar sake cup from Yoshinobu Morimoto's new exhibition. It is part of a series inspired by the Muromachi period, when Bizen ware swept across Japan as a form of folk utensil, prized for its powerful aesthetic despite a focus on practicality. Reflecting the characteristics of that era, the production technique involves stacking coil-shaped clay and joining it on a potter's wheel, leaving the wheel marks and joints visible to create an unadorned, rustic form. In terms of firing, the artist deliberately avoided focusing on specific surface effects, choosing instead to stack the pieces haphazardly and fire them together, just as it was done in that historical period. As a result, the finish is understated, bringing out the true quality of the clay and offering the calm, wabi-sabi aesthetic praised by tea masters as "chilled and withered." Signed wooden box (shiho-zan) included
Diameter 9.1cm x 8.5cm x Height 4.7cm

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 primarily in Tokyo and across Japan. He was selected for the Tanabe Museum of Art's "Tea Ceremony Art Exhibition" in 2005, 2006, and 2007. He exhibited at the "Contemporary Sake Vessel Exhibition" at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi in Tokyo in 2008 and the "Contemporary Tea Bowl Exhibition" at the same venue in 2009. In 2010, he held a solo exhibition titled "Yoshinobu Morimoto Special Feature" at Tenmaya in Okayama, among many others held throughout the country.