Guinomi:  A Japanese sake cup with coarse mineral-rich clay, blue-gray kiln flashing, and naturally pooled olive ash.

Website Description

SAK-019 is a robust Japanese guinomi formed from coarse, iron-bearing stoneware and fired to produce expressive natural-ash effects. Its gently swelling body, irregular lip, and compact foot give the cup a grounded, tactile presence. Pale gray and tan clay shifts into blue-gray flashing and dark olive deposits, while glossy ash gathers dramatically in the interior well.

The firing character is most consistent with Shigaraki-influenced wood-fired pottery. A paper label beneath the foot is read Sugie Koji; because this is an applied label rather than a permanent artist’s mark, the maker attribution is offered provisionally.

I Identification

SAK-019 is a substantial Japanese guinomi intended for drinking sake. Its 7.8 cm diameter, comparatively deep body, and 90 g weight distinguish it from the shallower ceremonial sakazuki form.

II Artist and Lineage

A paper label attached beneath the foot bears the name most naturally read Sugie Koji. Because the name is supplied by a removable label rather than an impressed, incised, or painted potter’s mark, authorship remains provisional. No original signed box or other independent documentation accompanies the present identification.

III Physical Characteristics

The wheel-formed cup has a relaxed, irregular rim, gently swelling walls, and a small roughly trimmed foot. Coarse buff clay is densely marked by dark iron specks and mineral inclusions. The surface ranges from pale gray and tan to bluish gray, olive green, and dark brown. Glossy ash has pooled inside the well, while the exterior shows kiln flashing, firing pits, and uneven glaze movement characteristic of high-temperature wood firing.

IV Inscriptions

No permanent signature or kiln mark is visible in the supplied photographs. The removable label is read Sugie Koji; the original Japanese characters are preserved in the accompanying label photograph.

V Tomobako or Kiribako

No original signed tomobako or kiribako has been documented with the cup.

VI Provenance and Documentation

Present documentation consists of the attached name label and photographs. The label should be retained with the object because it records the existing attribution, although it does not by itself authenticate the maker.

VII Market and Availability

The cup is marketable as a distinctive contemporary Japanese wood-fired guinomi. Until the attribution is independently confirmed, pricing should be based primarily on the quality of the vessel, firing effects, condition, and visual appeal rather than on the maker’s name.

VIII Aesthetic and Narrative

The most compelling feature is the contrast between the quiet, granular clay and the active ash deposits. Dark olive pools inside the cup draw the eye toward the center, while blue-gray flashing and iron freckles animate the exterior. The irregular lip and tactile foot preserve the immediacy of the firing and make the vessel rewarding to turn in the hand.

Small Detail: The glossy olive ash concentrated in the interior well provides a strong focal point and records the path of ash through the kiln.

Suggested Collector Line: A tactile wood-fired guinomi whose pooled olive ash and blue-gray kiln flashing make every viewing angle different.