Ono Hakuko Yuri Kinsai Gold-Under-Glaze Guinomi Sake Cup, Ureshino Ware, with Kiri Box

A guinomi (sake cup) by Ono Hakuko, a member of the Japan Kogei Association (Nihon Dento Kogeikai), made using the yuri kinsai (gold leaf under glaze) technique for which she is renowned. The vivid gold-under-glaze design is entirely handmade. This is an exceptionally difficult technique practiced by only a handful of artists in Japan. The piece is Ureshino ware from Saga Prefecture.

Ono Hakuko (1925-1996) was a Japanese ceramic artist born in Nagoya, the daughter of ceramicist Ono Kozan, founder of the Kozan kiln in Ureshino, Saga Prefecture. She grew up learning ceramics and design/painting at her father's Kozan workshop. In 1964 she was profoundly inspired by the yuri kinsai works of Living National Treasure Kato Hajime, and independently researched the technique, achieving her first success with it in 1969 when a piece was accepted into the Japan Kogei Association's Western Branch exhibition. She went on to win numerous awards in domestic exhibitions and had works acquired by museums abroad, and in 1992 was designated a holder of Saga Prefecture's Important Intangible Cultural Property for yuri kinsai ceramic technique. She was a member of the Japan Kogei Association and died in Ureshino in 1996.

• Mouth diameter: 6.4 cm
• Height: 3.6 cm
• Includes: Signed kiri (paulownia) wood box

Please refer to the photos for the item's current appearance and condition.