Artwork Overview

Pale yellow-green glaze meets the warm, reddish-brown tones of Iga clay in this kurinuki cup by Atarashi Manabu. The colour shifts through cream and muted olive across an irregular, faceted body. Broad areas of earth colour remain visible, giving the lighter glaze a warm and substantial counterpoint.

Artist Context

The cup’s carved construction is expressed through overlapping planes and pronounced diagonal ridges. These cuts give direction to the rounded form, leading the eye between the uneven rim and the low foot. In this work, Atarashi brings the shaping of the vessel and the character of its clay into close conversation.

Artistic Interpretation

Across the exterior, the glaze varies in coverage, revealing granular texture, fine surface lines and darker branching fissures. Pale passages catch the light along raised edges, while reddish-brown areas define the intervening planes. The predominantly warm brown interior continues the earth tones visible on the outside.

Curator’s Selection

We selected this piece for its balance of gentle colour and assertive form. The pale yellow-green softens the appearance of the angular cuts, while the exposed clay gives the composition depth. Its appeal lies in how naturally these qualities support one another, with no single feature overwhelming the whole.

Collector Perspective

Viewed from different sides, the cup moves between broad reddish-brown faces and lighter glazed surfaces. The diagonal ridges remain a consistent thread through these changing views. For a collector, the work offers a quieter expression of Iga’s material character, with enough variation in colour and texture to reward close, repeated looking.