Ueno Blue Glaze Coffee Cup and Saucer Set

Kobori Enshu, a tea master in the mid-Edo period, was a pioneer who led the trend of the tea ceremony. He made outstanding contributions to promoting domestic tea pottery. He sent his preferred vessel shapes and styles to his seven favored kilns, provided guidance, and greatly developed ceramic art. These kilns were Shidoro ware, Zeze ware, Asahi ware, Akahada ware, Kosobe ware, Ueno ware, and Takatori ware. Thus, they are known as the Enshu Seven Kilns. Ueno ware already enjoyed a reputation as a tea pottery production area in the Edo period. The pottery ancestor, Sonkai (Ueno Kisō), was a naturalized Korean potter. In 1602, he was invited to Kokura Castle by Tadaoki Hosokawa and opened a kiln in Ueno, Buzen Province. Kama-no-kuchi Kiln, Sarayama Kiln, Iwadani Kiln, etc. are collectively known as the ancient Ueno kilns. Early Ueno ware pieces primarily used ash glaze, straw ash glaze, and iron glaze, similar to Karatsu and old Takatori ware. Later generations are characterized by a white glaze base, Ueno blue glaze (copper green glaze), and sancai glazes. Old works are unmarked. Marks began to be used after the late Edo period. Techniques such as "shiso-de" (perilla leaf pattern), "tamago-de" (egg pattern), and "yuzuhada-de" (yuzu skin pattern) are also commonly used in later periods. -------------------------------------------------------- Ueno Ware Fujiyama Kiln Noriaki Fujimura Ueno Blue Glaze Coffee Cup SIZE: Diameter 7.8cm X Height 5.5cm Ueno Blue Glaze Coffee Saucer SIZE: Diameter 14.9cm X Height 2.2cm *Hand-fired iron-painted patterns. Glaze color and dimensions may vary slightly.