Description

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, 12 cm in diameter and 8 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 a 24-carat gold kintsugi restoration, which is food safe.

Myriam’s view:

On this bowl, I particularly like the cedar and plum blossom motifs. The cedar is a symbol of winter, while the plum branches, the first tree to bloom at the end of winter, herald the arrival of spring. These motifs are very common in the world of the Japanese tea ceremony, which adapts to the changing seasons. That’s why the objects used to make tea are often adorned with characteristic plants to identify the season, as in this chawan announcing the end of winter and the beginning of spring.