Chawan Chawan Made of Seto Ware by Kazufumi Wada

A warm olive-amber tone, which shifts into golden brown depending on the incidence of light, covers this tea bowl evenly down to the unglazed foot and reveals the characteristic ash glaze of Seto ware. Fine, vertical grooves resulting from wheel-throwing run through the wall, giving the glossy surface a tactile texture that feels pleasant in the hand.

Seto, one of the six old ceramic regions of Japan, looks back on a particularly long tradition of glaze development and is considered one of the cradles of Japanese ceramic art. The slightly angular, hexagonal-seeming rim shape of this bowl deliberately breaks with pure roundness and gives the piece a restrained, modern accent without departing from the traditional formal vocabulary. The bowl was made by Kazufumi Wada, whose steady hand is evident in the even wall thickness.

This hand-thrown tea bowl comes in a wooden box signed by the master potter and was created in the Heisei period. It is suited both for the tea ceremony and as a warm-toned collector's piece of Japanese ceramic art.