Black Raku ware tea bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Black Raku tea bowl, cylindrical; low, recessed foot.

  Clay: dense, grayish. Raku type.

  Glaze: dense black with copper-brown mottling.

  Pottery with Black Raku glaze; black lacquer repairs.

• Label

  The small size, minimal sculpting, and dull black glaze associate this bowl with the formative phase of Raku tea bowl production in the 1580s, when this type of hand-formed bowl allegedly originated through the collaboration of Chojiro (died 1589), a maker of roof tiles, and Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591), the foremost tea master of the day. This bowl does not closely resemble the workmanship associated specifically with Chojiro; it may have been made by another potter in Chojiro's workshop--or even by a completely unrelated workshop. Recent archaeological findings indicate that several different Kyoto workshops were producing such tea bowls. The Raku workshop lasted longest and became best known.

• Provenance

  To 1902

  Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1902 [1]

  From 1902 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1902 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]

  Notes:

  [1]

  See Original Pottery List, L. 1115, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Imperfectly Beautiful: Inventing Japanese Ceramic Style (October 14, 2017 - October 14, 2019)

  The Power to See Beauty (October 14, 2017 to September 6, 2022)

  Golden Seams: The Japanese Art of Mending Ceramics (November 8, 2008 to May 10, 2009)

  Japanese Screens (March 2007 to January 3, 2016)

  Freer and Tea II: Raku, Hagi, Karatsu (July 8, 2006 to January 1, 2007)

  The Koetsu Tea Bowl (May 15, 1998 to June 23, 2005)

  An Invitation to Tea (November 9, 1996 to April 26, 1998)

  Japanese Art (May 9, 1993 to November 21, 1995)

  Kyoto Ceramics (November 9, 1984 to April 25, 1985)

  Japanese Ceramics from Past to Present (February 18, 1983 to February 16, 1984)

  Japanese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to January 17, 1980)

  Special Exhibition of Japanese Pottery (October 29, 1971 to October 31, 1971)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. 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 National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1580s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Matsuki, Bunkio

• Place

  Kyoto, Japan, Kyoto prefecture

• Topic

  Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), Lacquer repair, Japanese Art, Lacquer, Ceramics, Raku ware

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)