Japanese Showa Antique｜Ruri Blue Kiriko Glass Mizusashi with Black-Lacquered Wooden Lid
The piece is made of deep, richly saturated ruri blue glass, with a rounded, full bowl-shaped body topped by a simple black-lacquered wooden lid; the blue and black form a composed color pairing with a distinctly Japanese aesthetic sensibility. The truly remarkable part is the decoration on the glass body. The upper section is arranged with a ring of circular cut motifs, each circle containing finely executed cuts of differing direction and density; the lower section uses a profusion of intersecting diagonal lines to form a net-like geometric pattern. As light passes through the clear and deep blue glass, the cut areas produce shifts of light and shade, refraction and depth, so this piece is not simply "a pretty blue" — its expression changes continually under different light sources and viewing angles. Placed near a window with natural side light, the kiriko cutting becomes especially pronounced.
