Hand-formed Speckled Porcelain Tea Cup

At a glance

- Hand-formed porcelain by ceramic artist Masako Nakagami (仲上雅子), Kyoto
- Distinctive speckled surface: glaze mixed into clay body and polished, not applied over it
- 5.5cm wide, 5cm tall; each piece individually made, no two identical

The surface of this cup looks like a smooth river stone: matte and slightly speckled, with faint blushes of colour caught within the white. It is not a glaze applied on top. It is the clay itself.

Masako Nakagami (仲上雅子) works from her studio in Oharano, Kyoto, using a technique she has developed over decades: glaze materials are mixed directly into the porcelain body before forming, and the surface is then polished rather than glazed and fired in the conventional way. The result is a texture that is alternately smooth and subtly rough, with the speckled character coming from within the material rather than sitting on top of it. Each cup is hand-formed on the wheel, which means the organic silhouette varies from piece to piece. The rounded form sits naturally in both hands; the open rim suits sencha, matcha, or any tea drunk slowly. Nakagami's work is held and used at Claridge's in London, Ace Hotel Kyoto, and Chateau La Coste, amongst others.

A cup that rewards attention. The kind of object that people ask about.