The beautiful sake set, inclusive of a bottle and two cups, is finely handcrafted by artist Anette Lindenberg using kurinuki, the traditional Japanese technique of carving from a single block of clay. The pieces are made with dark stoneware clay, porcelain and glaze. The dark rock-textured surface and unconventional shape of the asymmetric sake bottle emulates the natural rock form — a reminder of the resilient and powerful forces of nature. This monumentality is augmented by the association to the material from ancient Egyptian, suggesting timelessness and a sense of enigmatic mystery. Smooth porcelain streaks form a marble-pattern, lightly dancing across the surface of the bottle to counterbalance the monumentality of rock textured body with a sense of whimsical playfulness. The glistening, thin glaze retains this unique shape and texture, creating a ‘wet effect’ capturing the ephemeral movement of running water. The undulations across the rims of the two accompanying cups captures a roughness softened by the thin clay layer of the body, complementing the simple, finely sculpted asymmetrical form of the cup — the rounded belly and narrower base resembles an endearing and graceful tulip shape, comfortably curving into the palm.
The piece elegantly treads a balance between delicate softness and jagged roughness, reflecting the artist’s interest in natural geomorphic forms and influence from the Japanese aesthetic theory of wabi-sabi – an appreciation for beauty in imperfection. This combination results in a mesmerising rawness and warmth that is simultaneously intimate and subliminal. The unglazed bottom exhibits the original rough clay body, finished with the neat maker’s mark.