Here we present a real old Ko-Karatsu Tenmoku Chawan with a wonderful yobitsugi repair. It dates from the early stages of the Japanese Azushi-Momoyama Period (1573-1603).

A yobitsugi repair is not just a simple repair, it is a recreation by using laquer and some fragments of broken pottery of the same or a similar kiln. The result is a breathtaking consistency of 'landscape' (keshiki)...

From our collection of Japanese Chawan with Christian Cross design: highly 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.

In the style of Seto kuro bowls this Chawan was covered with a brown glaze. On one side the sign of a Christian (Maltese) cross was left unglazed and was covered with a transparent ash glaze...

Best of the best! Distorted half cylinder shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl made of light, coarse unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical black oniita glaze inside and outside, with the exception of the bottom' the roughly cut foot ring and window, which is decorated with plover birds (chidori) over waves in black under a shin on type glaze. Next to the roughly cut foot ring is a kiln mark (kama jirushi)...

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...

Elegant, little distorted half cylinder shaped kutsugata tea bowl with flaring lip made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay.

The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical, glossy black iron oxide glaze inside and outside, leaving an unglazed 'window' on one side.

One 'window' is decorated with circles squares and lines in iron oxide glaze which has been covered with a clear ash and feldspar glaze...

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...

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...

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 ...

We are proud to present this extremely rare mugi-de Oribe chawan dating back to early stage of the Momoyama Period. It is a slightly distorted cylidrical shape Hanzutsu tea bowl with flaring brim and trimmed sides. The bowl was covered with a Shino-Oribe-type glaze (a feldspat glaze with a higher content of ash than Shino).

Under the decoration of vertical parallel lines in four different shades of brown, which gave this decor the name 'mugi-de', which means barley straw. This des...