Bronze Glaze Set of 5 — Kyoto

A dull metallic sheen. Maeda Asami builds the colour of old brass found at a European flea market out of a porcelain glaze; turn it in the light and the crystals catch.

At the centre is an octagonal 20cm plate covered in hana-shippo — interlocking rings that, because a circle has no end, have long been read in Japan as a wish for lasting harmony. With it come a mug and three smaller plates.

What is in the set (5 pieces)

• Bronze Glaze Hana-Shippo Octagonal Plate — approx. 20cm across × 3cm high
• Bronze Glaze Mug — approx. 8cm diameter × 10cm high
• Bronze Glaze Foliate Arabesque Small Plate — approx. 13.5cm diameter × 1.5cm high
• Bronze Glaze Foliate Arabesque Mamezara Tiny Plate — approx. 10cm diameter × 1.5cm high
• Dahlia Bronze Glaze Small Plate — approx. 9.5cm diameter × 1.5cm high

The raised rim on the large plate frames what is on it; it works for serving or for cake. On the small plates the glaze pools in the carved arabesque and throws shadows inside a dish the size of a palm. A pinch of salt, a single chocolate — the smaller the plate, the more the everyday table straightens up.

About the maker

Kyoto | Maeda Asami, jiucasca

Porcelain that comes out of the palms of the hands, each piece quietly colouring a table and easing the person at it — like a faint, merciful rain. The studio name jiucasca is taken from that rain.

After a long dry season the rain soaks into the ground drop by drop and brings it back to life; Maeda Asami put into the name the wish that a piece of pottery does the same for a table. Every line is drawn by hand in itchin — slip squeezed from a dropper — which is why the pattern comes out as fine as lacework. A jiucasca piece sits at the edge of the table and brings a graceful moment to an ordinary day: not simply tableware, but a small work of art made by hand.

Bronze glaze grows softer and deeper the more it is used.

See everything by Maeda Asami