Tea ceremony water jar with matching cover

Maker(s)
Artist: False seal of Raku Sonyu (1664-1716)
Historical period(s)
Edo period or Meiji era, 18th-19th century
Medium
Earthenware with Red Raku glaze (red slip under clear lead glaze)
Style
Raku ware, unknown workshop
Dimensions
H x Diam: 22.1 × 22.5 cm (8 11/16 × 8 7/8 in)
Geography
Japan, Kyoto prefecture, Kyoto
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1900.62a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea ceremony water jar (tomobuta mizusashi)

Keywords
earthenware, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, Kyoto ware, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), Raku ware, red slip, tea, water
Provenance

Ikeda Seisuke (1839-1900), Kyoto [1]

To 1900
Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1900 [2]

From 1900 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1900 [3]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

Notes:

[1] See Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record. See also, Curatorial Remark
5, H.E. Buckman, 1964, which states that the Envelope File contained the following note: "Formerly in Ikeda Collection."

[2] See Original Pottery List, L. 756, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[3] See note 2.

[4] 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)

Ikeda Seisuke 1839-1900
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Bunkio Matsuki (C.L. Freer source) 1867-1940

Label

This water jar is attributed by its box inscription to Raku Sonyu. Cousin of the renowned artists, Ogata Korin (1658-1716) and Ogata Korin (1663-1743), Sonyu was adopted into the Raku family while still an infant and became the fifth head of the workshop. This large, heavy jar reproduces the so-called potato shape (imogata) of certain unglazed jars brought from Southeast Asia in the 16th century and adopted for tea-ceremony use. This box is inscribed by Kakkakusai (1678-1730), sixth master of the Omote Senke tea school.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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