Bizen tea cup

This is a Bizen tea cup by Masao Akiya, an artist who studied under Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki and creates work brimming with unique originality amidst a fresh sensibility. It possesses a wonderful sense of balance, incorporating self-assertive touches into a straightforward, traditional tea cup form without compromising its ease of use. The treatment of details such as the rim and the foot is truly precise, giving the entire piece a very sharp, well-defined edge. Fired slowly in an anagama kiln using clay rich in sand, the granular texture of the clay appears on the surface of the vessel like a marble pattern, making for a beautiful finish. Paper box
Diameter 7.9cm × Diameter 7.9cm × Height 9.3cm Masao Akiya was born in Saitama in 1968. He studied under Living National Treasure Jun Isezaki starting in 1998, and after ten years of training, he built his own kiln in Bizen and became independent in 2008. He held his first kiln opening in 2009. He has been selected for exhibitions such as the Tanabe Museum of Art's "Tea Ceremony Modeling Exhibition" and the Japan Kōgeikai Chugoku Branch Exhibition, and has received awards including the Okayama Prefectural Art Exhibition Prize and the Encouragement Award.