Mishima Vase

Cylinder Studio's Mishima series applies a centuries-old Korean-Japanese ceramic technique to contemporary vessel forms, each vase hand-built, hand-incised, and fired individually, giving the finished objects a craft quality that's increasingly rare in accessible decorative objects. The Mishima is the more dramatic of the two Mishima colorways: the same incised-line surface work as the White, but on a dark ceramic body that makes the inlaid lines read in starker contrast.

At 7.5" tall, the Mishima has a presence that belies its modest scale, the dark body absorbs light rather than reflecting it, which gives the piece a sense of quiet density. The incised patterns run across the surface in a way that draws the eye around the vessel, rewarding the same kind of attention you'd give a piece of inked paper rather than a functional object.

It works powerfully as a single object on a pale surface, white marble, light oak, or a pale-plastered wall, where the contrast is maximum.