R432 Shuten Black

This is a new "R432 Sake Cup - Black" by Toru Ichikawa, who made a stunning debut after studying under Ryuichi Kakinozaki. While one is immediately drawn to the avant-garde, highly original design, holding it in your hands reveals the immense passion poured into expressing the beauty of clay as a material. Achieving these beautiful curves and edges requires a deep understanding of the clay's properties, followed by a terrifying amount of time and meticulous effort in the finishing process; the piece is born from a process of single-mindedly forging the clay, much like a swordsmith. As the latest work in the R432 series, inspired by lusterware, it features a body that has become like tamahagane steel through the emergence of carbonized silver, coated in a mysterious black glaze reminiscent of a dark universe. The rugged, rock-like texture around the waist emits a dull glow due to the carbonized silver, making it a work where even the clay body itself is as beautiful as the glaze.

See the blog post for Toru Ichikawa's new works Includes signed wooden storage box (shiho-san)
Diameter 4.1cm × Diameter 4.3cm × Height 7.1cm Toru Ichikawa was born in Tokyo. He began studying under Ryuichi Kakinozaki in June 2011 and became independent in Tamano City, Okayama Prefecture, in January 2015.