This beautiful Tokkuri and Guinomi, a sake set, lives the Japanese philosophy that everything is individual, every inch of it. Every step of the work, including the randomly appearing gradients of the glazes, was meticulously handcrafted. The simultaneously organic and simple form gives the piece a minimalist beauty, which is contrasted by the bright yellow glaze.
The set is hand turned on the potter's wheel. The rounding (shrinking) of the clay was already taken into consideration during the manufacturing process in order to be able to completely absorb the usual filling volume of a sake bottle (250 mL). In the leather-hard state, the clay was neatly turned off on all set parts and the base was modelled.
The set was then glazed using the old Japanese raku technique. The Raku technique is not very common in Europe because of its dangerousness. The ceramics are taken out of the kiln at over 1000 degrees Celsius, glowing yellow, and packed in organic material. The black colouring of the ceramics and the craquelé is achieved with beech wood shavings. The hot ceramics ignite these immediately on contact and ignite soot, ashes and flames. The rapid drop in temperature causes stress cracks (cracs) and craquelé in the vessel. The soot finds every crack, no matter how small, and is also the reason why the ceramics continue to smell of fire, soot and ashes for some time after firing. However, the smell disappears relatively quickly!
The bottle and sake bowls have a wobble-free and stable base. It is not 100% waterproof, which is due to Japanese technology. Due to the suspended matter contained, the few still open tubes quickly sinter and seal the set.
When empty, the sake cups weigh approx. 72 g each and have a filling volume of approx. 50 mL each.
The sake bottle weighs approx. 317 g and is approx. 14 cm high. The filling volume is approx. 270 mL.
In total, the set has a filling volume of more than 300 mL, exactly the 300 mL contained in a sake bottle - perfectly circulated! This is an absolutely unique piece which has required countless hours of steady hand and alert eye. It is not for people who drop sake, it is something for connoisseurs!
