Bizen ware freshwater jar, with accessories

Square seal impressed on bottom, inside. Five vertical slashes on outside walls. Thrown on wheel, then rim distorted into triangular shape. Placed in kiln so as to receive maximum exposure to ash; where ash has flaked off (inside), body shows gray. Black lacquered wooden lid.

Historical period(s)
Momoyama period, 1590-1605
Medium
Stoneware with natural ash glaze; black lacquered wooden lid
Style
Bizen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam (overall): 11 x 23.5 cm (4 5/16 x 9 1/4 in)
Geography
Japan, Okayama prefecture, Imbe
Credit Line
Gift of Peggy and Richard M. Danziger
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1998.17a-h
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea ceremony water jar (suribachi mizusashi) with accessories

Keywords
Bizen ware, Japan, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), stoneware, tea, water
Provenance

Takashi Yanagi, Kyoto [1]

To 1998
Peggy and Richard M. Danziger, New York City, purchased from Takashi Yanagi, to 1998 [2]

From 1998
Freer Gallery of Art, given by Peggy and Richard M. Danziger in 1998

Notes:

[1] According to Curatorial Note 6 in the object record.

[2] See Note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Peggy and Richard M. Danziger
Takashi Yanagi

Description

Square seal impressed on bottom, inside. Five vertical slashes on outside walls. Thrown on wheel, then rim distorted into triangular shape. Placed in kiln so as to receive maximum exposure to ash; where ash has flaked off (inside), body shows gray. Black lacquered wooden lid.

Marking(s)

This piece bears an impressed square seal in the interior. See the curatorial remarks field, comment number 1 for a discussion of this seal.

Label

The imprint of a large square seal on this basin was purposely placed in the center for visibility during chanoyu gatherings, rather than modestly hidden on the base. Similar-perhaps identical-square seal impressions appear on several tea ceramics made at the Shigaraki kilns and excavated from the site of a merchant's shophouse in Kyoto. Both Bizen and Shigaraki were important sources of tea ceramics for the Kyoto market. The square seal prominently imprinted on these wares may mark a special order placed with potters in both locations by a tea customer, if not by the merchant himself.  

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort. Japanese Tea Culture: Art, History, and Practice. London and New York. fig. 3.16.
  • Noriko Shimomura. "備前焼茶道具の研究." Study of Bizen Tea Utensils. Kyoto, Japan. p. 91, fig. 59.
  • Louise Allison Cort, Bert Winther-Tamaki, Bruce Altshuler, Niimi Ryu. Isamu Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramics: A Close Embrace of the Earth. Washington and Berkeley. p. 108, fig. 3.4.
  • Thomas Lawton, Thomas W. Lentz. Beyond the Legacy: Anniversary Acquisitions for the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. vol. 1 Washington, 1998. pp. 289-292.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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