Tea ceremony water jar, Takatori ware

Water-jar (mizusashi), diamond shaped. Black lacquer cover.
Clay: dense, hard, grayish. Brown on exposed surface.
Glaze: yellow-brown with broad overflow of brilliant red-brown, iridescent; glaze partially wiped off base.

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1630-1665
Medium
Stoneware with iron glaze
Style
Takatori ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 13.7 x 22.9 x 16.1 cm (5 3/8 x 9 x 6 5/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Fukuoka prefecture, Shirahatayama kiln
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1900.106a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea ceremony water jar (mizusashi)

Keywords
brown and black glaze, Edo period (1615 - 1868), iridescence, Japan, stoneware, Takatori ware, tea, water
Provenance

To 1900
Yamanaka & Company, New York, NY, to 1900 [1]

From 1900 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1900 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 840, 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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917 - 1965

Description

Water-jar (mizusashi), diamond shaped. Black lacquer cover.
Clay: dense, hard, grayish. Brown on exposed surface.
Glaze: yellow-brown with broad overflow of brilliant red-brown, iridescent; glaze partially wiped off base.

Label

The potter who made this jar pressed a wheel-thrown cylinder into a diamond shape and wiped away portions of the glaze to reduce its glossiness. The jar's serene shape and amber-toned glaze are typical of tea ceramics made at the Shirahatayama kiln. Its wares are thought to reflect the taste and guidance of the tea master Kobori Enshu (1579-1647), whose preference for classic forms and quiet glazes had a far-reaching impact on Japanese ceramics in the 1630s and 1640s.

Published References
  • Andrew Maske. Potters and Patrons in Edo Period Japan: Takatori Ware and the Kuroda Domain. Farnham, Surry, UK and Burlington, Vermont. pl. 13.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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