Tokushichi Kiln Porcelain: Seen From Above

Almost everything about Tokushichi Kiln porcelain is designed for one viewpoint: looking down at a set table from a seated height. Once you notice that, the choices in each piece stop looking decorative and start looking deliberate.

Raised drawing on a white ground

The plate above is 12.4cm across with a 2.5cm wall, and the petal flower on it is laid in slip rather than painted flat. That single decision changes what happens under a lamp. A flat pattern on white porcelain has only colour to work with. A raised one also has a shadow, so the flower appears and recedes as you lean forward or sit back.

White is the harder ground to work on, because there is nowhere for a mistake to hide. It is also the most forgiving to eat from: nothing you serve will clash with it, and anything with colour in it looks brighter by contrast.

Why the small bowl stays shallow

The red bowl below is 2.8cm high. That is not much of a wall, and it is the correct answer for what this vessel is for. A small bowl holds something concentrated — pickled, salted, sauced — served in a quantity a spoon can lift in two goes.

Make it deeper and two problems appear. The contents sink out of sight, and the vessel starts competing with the main bowl for attention. Kept low, with the chrysanthemum motif visible around the outside, it reads as a companion piece rather than a rival.

What three feet do to a bowl

The yellow bowl below is 6.8cm across the mouth and 4.2cm high, and it stands on three legs instead of a single ring foot. Three points of contact will sit level on a surface that is not quite flat, which a ring foot will not. That matters more than it sounds on a wooden table with a grain to it.

Legs also lift the vessel, so a shadow opens up beneath it. The bowl looks lighter than its weight, and the stamen pattern around the body is held at eye height rather than pressed down against the cloth. Height is the cheapest way to give a small object presence.

Reading the wall before you buy

Across this maker the wall heights fall into a narrow band, and it is worth learning what each does. Around 1.6cm to 2.2cm you have a surface: something dry, something single, something presented. Around 2.5cm to 3cm the piece will hold a little liquid without it reaching the edge. Past 4cm you are holding a bowl, whatever the outline suggests.

Measure a vessel you already use before ordering. Most people discover they own three pieces at the same height and nothing at either end of the range.

Where to start

If you want one piece that will be used weekly, take a large plate with a decorated rim, where the pattern stays clear of the middle. If you want to feel the difference feet make, the three-legged bowl is the clearest example. The Tokushichi Kiln collection shows both together.