Kyoto Earthenware, Banded at the Rim
Refined by Kyoto's tea masters over the centuries, this cream-colored earthenware cup features a band of fuchi-koma-suji along its rim. Fine parallel lines in blue, green, and gold were drawn as the wheel turned. A soft crackle runs through the glaze, and a small trimmed foot grounds its delicate, understated form.
Born of Kyoto’s Heritage: This piece too is authentic Kyo-yaki pottery, handcrafted using time-honored techniques and refined by centuries of Japanese artistry.
Learn more → The Art and Technique of Kyoto Ware
Restored by Maki Mizuno
Gold seams travel from the rim through the lower body; one crosses the painted rim bands, turning the restoration into part of the design. Maki Mizuno studied Lacquer Arts at Kyoto City University of Arts, and she brings a watercolor sensibility to urushi. Her lacquer work has earned recognition in juried exhibitions. Over the course of four months, Maki Mizuno rebuilt each joint with natural urushi and finished the seams with 24K gold powder, achieving a roiro finish — the highest level of urushi polishing.
Where the Break Joins the Pattern
On most vessels, painted decoration and a break belong to different moments. Here, they meet. The gold seam runs straight across the blue, green, and gold rim lines so that the fracture sits inside the pattern rather than apart from it. The history of what the cup survived is drawn into its design rather than hidden. It is history made visible, held by urushi and marked in gold.
