Hagi-Ware Ash-Glazed Stoneware Cup — Tapered Form, Oval Cross-Section, Smoky Fire Markings

This cup stands apart from the pale celadon-toned pieces in the earlier sets — it's fired in a smokier, more atmospheric palette of grey-white ash glaze streaked through with dark charcoal-black clouding and warm ochre-brown patches.

The form itself is distinctive: rather than a true circular cross-section, the body is gently oval/rounded-square when viewed from above, tapering from a wider, slightly uneven rim down to a narrower base — a shape that reads as deliberately hand-built or paddled rather than thrown perfectly round, giving it an organic, asymmetric presence. Horizontal throwing ridges band the exterior, and the rim is left with a thin unglazed edge where the dark iron-rich clay body shows through in a warm brown line.

The base carries a pronounced spiral throwing mark radiating from center, with the same charcoal-and-ochre ash markings pooling unevenly across the foot — consistent with wood-fired or anagama-style reduction firing where flame path and ash deposit create this kind of dramatic, smoky variegation.

Details:

• Origin: Japanese wood-fired stoneware, ash-glaze tradition (kiln/potter unconfirmed)

• Form: Tapered cup with oval/rounded-square cross-section, wider uneven rim narrowing to base

• Glaze: Grey-white ash glaze with dark charcoal clouding and ochre-brown fire markings, thin exposed clay line at rim

• Base: Pronounced spiral throwing mark, ash deposits pooling unevenly across footring

• Condition: Good vintage/secondhand condition, few chips on rim — please check photos for chips, glaze roughness, or firing marks beyond the characteristic smoky finish

• Quantity: Single piece

• Dimensions: approx. (Diameter) 6.5cm x (H) 6.5cm