A large Bizen platter by Mori Toshiaki enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled simply Bizen Sara. One of the most striking features of Bizen Ware is its natural beauty, which is achieved without the use of glazes or decorative paints. Instead, the pottery’s aesthetic is shaped by the interaction of the raw clay, the firing process, and the kiln environment. This results in unique, unrepeatable patterns and textures that vary from piece to piece. Here, the artist has placed a variety of other items on top of the plate, creating Botamochi circles of varous sizes which remain iron red against the brown burnt raw clay surface. Within the texture one can see stripes, from straw which burnt awady during the firing leaving nearly invisible Hidasuki lines, and opposite the flame, yellowish ash has built up against one raised edge. The platter is a perfectly usable size at 30 x 39.5 x 2.3 cm (12 x 16 x 1 inches) and is in excellent condition, directly from the artist at the end of 2025.
Mori Toshiaki was born the first son of traditional Bizen potter Mori Yasushi in 1982. Growing up in the family kiln, he entered the Bizen ceramic center in 2005, and after a year of study there continued in the family tradition. He has exhibited with the Okayama Ken-Ten art exhibition, Nihon Dento Kogeiten Traditional Crafts Exhibition, Gendai Chato Ten Modern Tea Ceramics Exhibition and the Chanoyu Zokei Ten (New forms in Tea Exhibition in addition to being exhibited in New York, Taiwan, and London.
