Porcelain Beaker with Tenmoku Glaze
MakerMade by
Chris Keenan
(born 1960)
StudentTaught by
Edmund de Waal
(Nottingham, England, born 1964)
CollectorCollected by
Sandy Dunbar
(London, England, 1929 - 2012)
Dateearly 21st Century
Object NameBeaker
MediumLimoges porcelain, celadon and tenmoku
ClassificationsCeramics
DimensionsOverall (Height x Diameter of Base): 98 × 46mm
Rim (Diameter): 61mm
Rim (Diameter): 61mm
AcquisitionThe Sandy Dunbar Studio Ceramics Collection presented in 2023 by Crinan Dunbar and Rebecca Russell.
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS095708.243
About MeSmall porcelain beaker of cylindrical form tapering towards the base. The exterior is glazed in a dark olive green, slightly speckled, tenmoku glaze decorated with a single oval splash of ilmenite (titanium iron oxide). The interior is glazed in a pale green-blue celadon glaze.
Chris Keenan has chosen his favoured combination of tenmoku and celadon glazes for this beaker, with an elegantly simple surface pattern of a single ilumenite splash.
Tenmoku is a Japanese term for a type of glaze which is usually a lustrous black or a dark treacle-brown. Celadon is another type of glaze originating in the Far East. It is frequently found in shades of pale green, however colours can range from pale pearl blue to dark olive green depending on the quantity of iron oxide added to the glaze before it is fired. Ilumenite is a titanium iron-oxide mineral which creates an irridescent brown glaze when fired in a reduction kiln.
