CONFLUENCE

An emerald, part of the beryl family is made over great amounts of time, under tremendous pressure and cultivated by millions of years of heat with a hint of chromium and as one can imagine, it is a very coveted material. On the other hand, this emerald appearing bidoro drop is created over a relatively short span of time, little to no pressure and again in comparison to the mineral under less intense heat. Let's face it though, for anyone interested in pottery, this little gem and the multitude like it, it is highly sought after and is created in the same way as the actual mineral, happenstance, serendipity and what is really a confluence of all the right conditions; materials, heat and placement all aligning just right.      

In case it has alluded you, this detail shot comes from an Oni-Shino hanaire I handled a short while ago, not particularly large but just jam packed with every feature you could ask for. In this case, the photo is of the upper lip area which droops into the form and where the ash has built up during the firing, it has eroded small channels inward that then have guided the molten material into this singular point creating this deep, rich emerald green drop. I should mention there are two such channels and frozen drips on the mouth of this vase which must have acted as quite the leaky faucet as the entire interior floor of the vase, almost four inches across is solid, fractured green glass at least a quarter of an inch thick. Though I wouldn't mind having a handful of gem quality emeralds, this vase and its wonderful details and colors not to mention the beautiful bidoro is just fine by me and was worth the drive to get to see and handle yet another Tsukigata Nahiko piece that has made such a long journey.