Full description

Here is a Japanese style vase with an exceptional Nuka glaze. This piece was hand thrown on the wheel and coated with a dark clay slip when leather hard. After the bisque firing the inside was coated with a copper-green Oribe glaze, whilst the outside was dipped in Nuka glaze. This is a high silica glaze, which in Japan, used to be made with the ash from burning rice husks (Nuka is the Japanese term for rice bran, and rice husk ash is mainly composed of silica). It's unmelted silica which produces the white and cream colours in the glaze, while the blue and black streaks result from interaction with the underlying, iron-rich slip.

The pot has been fired to around 1285 degrees centigrade so is fully waterproof and can be used to display fresh flowers.

The way the glaze has developed on this vase is quite remarkable, which is why I've included a close-up photo of the surface. This glaze has to be fired at exactly the right temperature to achieve this unusual effect , and even then pieces may be ruined as it can easily run off the piece, sticking the pot to the wadding and the shelf. In this case the drips have stopped just short of the bottom edge, forming an attractive feature.

The vase measures approx. 4.25 ins tall and just under 3.5 inches wide at the shoulder. Mark Smalley's personal symbol has been impressed to the base.

Postage and packing is at a fixed cost of £4.00.