Shigaraki ware wide-mouthed jar

Underneath the unusual glazes lies a perfectly typical Shigaraki vat. Glazed in this manner, however, it suggests a potter's experimentation with the use of ornamental glazes, perhaps in an effort typical of the early Meiji era to develop a novel product with appeal for the export market. The interior is completely coated with copper-green lead glaze: some of the green glaze ran down onto the shoulder of the jar. The glaze around the rim is badly worn, but the remaining glaze seems to include patches of purple and brown as well as green. The extensive wear to the rim suggests that the jar might have been used in a retail tea shop as a container for tea, with a wooden or metal lid. Tea shops typically displayed a matching set of jars holding different types of tea, which were sold by measure.