Oribe-yaki tea cups?

[Ritva]

I found these three cups from a flea market in countryside. I think they are Japanese. Japanese tea ware is very uncommon here, not to mention in a small village! They were labeled as dessert cups/cereal bowls and the price was 3 euros for 3 cups!!! (That's about 4,3 USD) The owner was not there so I couldn't ask any questions about the origin of the cups. They look like oribe-yaki to me based on color and decoration, but the clay is much smoother than usually in oribe yaki. It looks more like porcelain than stoneware.

The cups differ slightly in size, shape and decoration, so I think they are handmade. They are rather large, about 250 ml. The cups have been "stamped" with what looks like to me as a Japanese character. All three cups have the same character (logo) in the bottom but two different stamps have been used. The character (logo) in one of the cups is smaller than in the other two.

Can anyone tell what the character means? Do you think these are Japanese cups and oribe-yaki? I'd love to hear your opinion. I'm very excited about the cups, because they are beautiful and it was such a strange thing to find cups like that in a small rural village. We've already enjoyed some nice sencha from the cups.

[Tead Off]

The cups are very nice but they look like porcelain. Do they give you a high note when you flick your fingernail on the rim? Oribe are usually thicker, and duller in sound, at least the ones that I have handled.

[Drax]

The glaze style ('dipped' twice, with overlapping parts) is definitely reminiscent of other Japanese glaze styles...

But the character on the bottom is not Japanese... or if it is, it's a simplification that I haven't seen before. It looks a little more like English (an C/E combined with a K... but backwards) -- i.e. a stylized combo of the initials of the artist.

Very nice cups either way. I love the green!

[chicagopotter]

The glaze surface (runny on exterior, smooth on interior, uneven, micro-crystal build-up) lends me to believe that the pieces were atmospherically fired -- possibly wood, although I am leaning more towards soda (or salt) fired.

[Chip]

Glad to see you Ritva!

Nice cups, sorry I cannot add anything.

[togei]

The stamp on the bottom looks like it could be Yama joined with Oo, 山大
That leaves the dot at the bottom of the 'Oo' unexplained. The split foot does seem Japanese to me. The glaze seems more generic, i.e., production, to me.
Dave

[Drax]

The stamp on the bottom looks like it could be Yama joined with Oo, 山大

I was wondering that, too, but the proportions are all wrong on 山... not that an artist couldn't alter it, of course.

Also, the order 山大 would be extremely odd...

[Ritva]

Thanks for all your comments! Special thanks for Chip for helping me with technical problems...

I flicked my fingernail on the rim and the cups gave a high note so I guess they are porcelain. Is porcelain ever used in Oribe-yaki?

The split foot, and the colour and shape of the cups (and no handle) made me think they are Japanese. Also the logo in the bottom looked like Japanese to a person who doesn't understand that language. It's true it could be a stylized combo of Western letters. Maybe I thought about Japanese origin also because there were obviously two different "stamps" used to make the logo in the bottom of the cups. They had same pattern/characters but were of different size. That made me think of a kiln that has several craftsmen working and all using the same logo. Here in Finland potters usually work alone and sign their name in the pieces they make.

Chicagopotter, does "atmospherically fired -- possibly wood, although I am leaning more towards soda (or salt) fired" tell anything about where the cups might be coming from? Is it common practice among potters all around the world or typical to some specific techniques?

[Drax]

Ritva -- the picture of the stamp shows a "dot" in the lower left. Does that dot appear on the other stamps, or is it something that only shows up on this one?