Bizen ware black sake cup

This is a new Bizen black sake cup by Takashi Baba, an artist born in Imbe who has loved Bizen ware since childhood and finds his life's joy in creating pieces and firing the kiln. For this black Bizen sake cup, Baba uses his signature slip-coating technique but dares to cover the entire piece in ash until the base surface is obscured during the firing process. Pushed beyond its limits, the black surface interacts with the ash-covered kiln changes to create a pale, light blue ash-covered effect never seen before. This is combined with pure white, snow-like sesame glaze and a deep blue reminiscent of concentrated ultramarine, resulting in a sake cup that evokes an underwater cave, with deep-sea blues and stalactite-like white sesame patterns. Signed wooden box (shiho-san style)
Diameter 5.9cm x Diameter 5.8cm x Height 5.5cm Takashi Baba was born in 1983 as the eldest son of Bizen ceramic artist Shosuke Baba. Having envisioned becoming a ceramic artist since childhood, he chose to study sculpture in university to broaden his artistic range. In 2006, he graduated from the Sculpture Department of Tokyo University of the Arts and went on to hone his skills at the Kyoto Municipal Institute of Industrial Technology and Culture. He became independent in 2007 and held his first solo exhibition. He is currently active primarily through solo exhibitions at department stores.