Storage jar

Large jar with wide shoulder and flaring lip.
Clay: Coarse, grey stoneware, fired glossy red on surface.
Glaze: Glossy with crackle, dripping unevenly over surface.
Mark: Two strokes incised on the shoulder in shape of an X.

Historical period(s)
Muromachi period, ca. 1400-1450
Medium
Stoneware with natural ash glaze
Style
Tamba ware
Dimensions
H x Diam (overall): 38.7 x 31.6 cm (15 1/4 x 12 7/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Hyogo prefecture, Tachikui
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1966.28a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar (tsubo)

Keywords
Japan, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), stoneware, Tamba ware
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Large jar with wide shoulder and flaring lip.
Clay: Coarse, grey stoneware, fired glossy red on surface.
Glaze: Glossy with crackle, dripping unevenly over surface.
Mark: Two strokes incised on the shoulder in shape of an X.

Inscription(s)
Marking(s)

Two strokes incised on the shoulder in shape of an X

Label

The Tamba kilns west of Kyoto comprised one of several dozen medieval complexes supplying utilitarian storage vessels to local markets.  While no record survives of contemporary opinions of such wares, under the influence of chanoyu they came to be appreciated for their asymmetrical forms and distinctive color combinations.  The incised mark on the shoulder of this jar probably served to identify the maker of the jar when it was fired in a communal kiln.

Published References
  • Zaigai Nihon no Shiho [Japanese Art: Selections from Western Collections]. 10 vols., Tokyo, 1979 - 1980. vol. 9: pl. 10.
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 45.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Thomas Lawton, Harold P. Stern. The Freer Gallery of Art. 2 vols., Washington and Tokyo, 1971-1972. cat. 120, vol. 2: p. 182.
  • Freer Gallery of Art. The Freer Gallery of Art. Washington. p. 17.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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