Neriage

I was asked recently about Chinese "Stirred" wares that were claimed to have been abandoned because of the difficulty of mixing and firing two different clays mixed together.  Far from being abandoned it was developed in Japan as Neriage and in other places as Agate Ware.  The top picture is of a small Japanese bowl, maker unknown.  Zenji Miyashita made the drinking cup with blue and white decoration - a modern form of "stirred".

Baskets

Among the craft things we collected are several baskets.  These two are Japanese baskets used for small flower arrangements.  Both are lovely examples of Japanese basket weaving techniques and with a small water container inside look beautiful with just a few flowers.

Shards

These two images are of a Chinese bowl shard.  Obviously there were a number of bowls stacked for the firing hence the ring where the foot of the next bowl has been placed.  The clay body and the cobalt decoration are interesting - I love the softness of the blue painting. 

Two Tall Bottles

These two anagama fired bottles are in our permanent collection.  The top one is one of mine and the lower one is one of Estelle's.  Tall bottles like these are usually made in two or possibly three sections and the trick is to allow for drying shrinkage so the when the sections are assembled then there is no indication of where the joins were made.