A spoon tray of this design was included in a Christie’s auction in 2009.

Approximately 13.2 cm long...

Rough unrefined Shigaraki clay, with little iron oxide, thrown into the shape of a small tsubo called 'uzukumaru'. The unglazed body was scorched by the fire to a beautiful red discolouration. The bottom plate shows two stripes called 'geta', which held the pot in place on the hand wheel. Some flying ash has created a natural glaze on the shoulder and the mouth...

Wan-shaped tea bowl made of light, little iron oxide bearing, sandy Karatsu clay, which is unrefined and has mane inclusions. The rim has been cut in the shape of a hissen (brush washer - the shape prevents a brush placed on the rim to roll off).

The thinly thrown body is covered with the typical transparent Karatsu type of ash glaze. Under the glaze is a decoration in iron oxide representing some foliage on the one side and a three dot mon of the Nakasato family...

A real piece of art: Shino-Oribe Tea Bowl from the early Edo Period (around 1620, early 17th century). It is a shoe shaped Kutsugata Chawan covered with a whitish Shino-Oribe glaze over an iron oxide engobe in two quarter sections, where a triangle has been scratched into the dark engobe. The other two opposite quarters show a decoration of two squares in the style of mimasu - three squares.

The roughly cut foot ring and its surrounding show the typical little refined Mino clay...

Little distorted half cylinder shaped (hanzutzu) tea bowl made of light, coarse unrefinde Mino clay, with very nice, little and small ishihaze (exploding stones).

The mouth has been trimmed in a fashion frequently seen in black Oribe but rarely in Ki Seto (yellow Seto) bowls. The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical ash glaze inside and outside which has turned into yellow due to a slight iron oxide content in the clay...

Momoyama to early Edo period made, little distorted half cylinder ki-Seto (yellow Seto) chawan with a great wabi-sabi atmosphere, rarely seen on ki-Seto items.

Ki-Seto is said to have been the outcome of the attempts of potters to recreate Chinese celadon wares. A fortunate mistake, for a new ware was born. The ash glaze looks like deep-fried tofu and has been given the name aburaage-de. Almost all Ki-Seto wares are serving utensils - exept some few tea bowls...

Another historical masterpiece in the development of Japanese culture: grey Shino Chawan, distorted cylindrical shape - hanzutsu, covered with a whitish Shino glaze over an iron oxide engobe, resulting in a beautiful grey shino glaze, which partly turns to red shino (aka shino).

A decoration of a branch with a leaf and berries on the front and a criss cross grass pattern on the back has been incised into the engobe resulting in white shino colored lines...

Very little distorted cylinder shaped (hanzutsu) tea bowl with a rounded brim, made of little reddish, coarse, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife in its lower part and through the finger marks (rokuro-me) covered with an ash glaze inside and outside. The little iron oxide in the clay turned the glaze to light brown.

On two opposite sides, decoration has been applied under the glaze in iron oxide with a little white engobe...

The enjoyment of nature.

The Catalogue of the Shibata Collection exhibits two similar bottles.

Another, a 39.8 cm tall example is illustrated in ‘Fine & Curious Japanese Export Porcelains in Dutch Collections’. Hotei Pub...

This gorgeous grey Shino-Oribe Chawan was made around 1620, the late Momoyama and early Edo Period.

The cylinder shaped (hanzutsu) chawan is made of light, fine, unrefined Mino clay. Shape and style (flaring mouth) make it contemporary with the late Oribe bowls. The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical black oniita engobe inside and outside - with the exception of the bottom - over which a white, feldspatic Shino glaze has been poured. Just the foot ring and its immedia...

Little distorted half cylinder shaped (tsutsugata) tea bowl made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay.

The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical, glossy black iron oxide glaze inside and outside.

The window is decorated with three concentric squares and twigs in iron oxide glaze has then covered with a clear ash and feldspar glaze. This is a typical Momoyama design.

The three concentric squares is the mon (the family crest) of the famous Kabuki act...

A true treasure! Slightly distorted shoe shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl with a rounded brim, made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife in its lower part around the foot ring.

The bowl was covered with a green copper oxide glaze. A window on the side was left unglazed and split in two halves - one was decorated with iron oxide engobe which was decorated with incised straight zig-zag lines, the other half was decorated with a ...