Mino ware tea-ceremony water jar

Brown clay. String-cut flat base. Two thick, horizontal handles. Sculpted with vertical slashes, horizontal incised lines; underglaze iron painted decoration of pine tree on one side, willow tree on the other. Translucent light brown ash glaze; base glazed except in center. Circular scar from clay firing ring in glaze in bottom; four scars around edge of inward-rolled lip where matching clay lid (now lost) was supported for firing.

Historical period(s)
Momoyama period, 1607-1615
Medium
Stoneware with iron pigment under ash glaze
Style
Mino ware, Mino Karatsu type
Dimensions
H x W x D: 19 x 23.5 x 23.5 cm (7 1/2 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 in)
Geography
Japan, Gifu prefecture, Toki city, Kujiri village, Motoyashiki kiln
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1967.17a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea ceremony water jar (mizusashi)

Keywords
Japan, Mino ware, Mino Karatsu type, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), pine tree, stoneware, tea, tree, water
Provenance

To 1967
S. Yabumoto Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. [1]

From 1967
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from S. Yabumoto, Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

S. Yabumoto Co., Ltd.

Description

Brown clay. String-cut flat base. Two thick, horizontal handles. Sculpted with vertical slashes, horizontal incised lines; underglaze iron painted decoration of pine tree on one side, willow tree on the other. Translucent light brown ash glaze; base glazed except in center. Circular scar from clay firing ring in glaze in bottom; four scars around edge of inward-rolled lip where matching clay lid (now lost) was supported for firing.

Label

A phenomenon of the Momoyama period was the imitation of popular wares from other kilns.  The Motoyashiki kiln in Mino, which produced the earliest Oribe wares, also made Karatsu-style wares using underglaze iron glaze decoration and Iga-style wares. Karatsu kilns in turn made some imitations of unglazed Bizen ware.  Such activity was a measure of the enormous commercial success of Momoyama ceramics.

Published References
  • Andrew Maske. Potters and Patrons in Edo Period Japan: Takatori Ware and the Kuroda Domain. Farnham, Surry, UK and Burlington, Vermont. fig. 4.8.
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 53.
  • Louise Allison Cort. Seto and Mino Ceramics. Washington and Honolulu, 1992. cat. 40, p. 31.
  • Edwards Park. Treasures from the Smithsonian Institution., 1st ed. Washington and New York. p. 357.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
SI Usage Statement

Usage Conditions Apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Request Permission | Terms of Use