Description

This superb piece is emblematic of Kyoto ceramics from the Edo period (17th to 19th century).

It is a “Kyō Yaki” bowl, a style of ceramics born in the heart of Japan’s imperial capital, where the best potters and most precious materials were to be found. That’s why the pieces created in this style are so fine, with elegant hand-painted motifs and often enhanced with pure gold details.

Kyō Yaki ceramics are inextricably linked with the rise of tea culture in Japan: artists vied with each other in creativity to decorate the bowls (chawan) then used in the tea ceremony. This refined chawan, 14 cm in diameter and 5 cm high, is a fine example.

Kyō Yaki chawan and their graceful motifs are particularly sought-after by enthusiasts past and present. Whether to contemplate them, use them again as part of a tea ceremony, or use them to enjoy any other type of beverage: indeed, kintsugi is the only restoration technique compatible with food use.

This unique, hand-painted piece is enhanced by kintsugi restoration in 24-carat gold.

Myriam’s eye:

This bowl reveals on its inner walls an exuberant decoration of Belle-de-jour, a flower of the bindweed family much appreciated in Japanese art. Why this name? Because it opens in the morning and closes again in the evening. Very present in traditional Japanese decorative art, it often evokes summer. Its presence on a chawan is not insignificant: the Japanese tea ceremony is closely linked to the passing of the seasons, and the objects used to make tea are therefore often adorned with characteristic plants, alluding to the current season. Such is the case with this chawan, probably designed for use in summer.