Katakuchi Dish Set by Nagai Ken

Description

Tamba-yaki is a style of high-fired, unglazed pottery originating more than 800 years ago in a remote and mountainous region west of Kyoto in Hyogo prefecture.  During the Edo era (1600-1868), Tamba tea bowls were used extensively by tea ceremony practitioners who appreciated their simple, austere beauty.  Because Tamba-yaki is unadorned and free of decorative elements, its beauty derives solely from the quality of the clay, also known as its "flavor", and how kiln dynamics are rendered upon it.

This spouted (katakuchi) dish set by Nagai Ken is formed and fired in the Tamba tradition.  Intense heat inside Tenkū-gama, Nagai's noborigama climbing kiln, produces warm gradations of rust red to dark brown and small pebbles where feldspar crystals in the clay burst through.  Swirling embers of red pine fuse with the surface of the dishes and produce a natural glaze, or shizen-yu, which is rough yet pleasing to the touch.  One bowl in the set holds an incidental drop of ash which fell from the ceiling of the kiln at its peak temperature of 1,250°C (2,300°F) and vitrified as it cooled.

Full of warmth and rustic charm, these hand thrown dishes naturally bring out the color of food and are ideal for serving steamed vegetables, pasta dishes or fresh fruit.

View Nagai Ken's Profile  |  View all works by this artist.