Item NK046

Tetsubin

Green Tea Set

(3pc. & signed box)

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Nagai Ken

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Nagai Ken's clay creations are a skillful melding of two artistic genres closely linked to Japan's tea culture: cast iron wares and wood-fired pottery.

This distinctive tea pot resembles a miniature tetsubin - the kind of iron kettles used to boil water for green tea.  Meticulously handcrafted in minute detail (the knob on the lid swivels), it is a testament to Mr. Nagai's exceptional forming skill.  The intense heat inside the noborigama climbing kiln where it is fired has produced warm gradations of rust red to dark brown and small pebbles where feldspar crystals have burst through.  Swirling embers of red pine fuse with the surface of the clay and produce a natural glaze which is rough yet pleasing to the touch.  It is a wonderful display of the kind of dynamic kiln effects that only wood-fired pottery can exhibit.

The pot is accompanied by two cups formed and fired in the same Tamba tradition.  The interior has a built-in sieve porous enough to allow small bits of green tea leaf to flow through - a timeless custom shared by many tea drinkers in Japan.  Its total capacity is 340 ml (11.5 oz), which is enough to make three cups of tea.  Gyokuro is highly recommended.

Functional as well as beautiful, this set promises many memorable tea moments.

See Nagai Ken's Osaka Exhibition for more works from his 2010 collection.

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