Storage Jar: Tamba Ware
Unknown Artist
1400s
Medium
stoneware with natural ash glaze
Dimensions
h. 45 cm · diam. 39 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
2002.66
About this artwork
This vessel served as a storage container for rice or other grains in medieval farming communities. The piece was made by potters in Tamba, a fertile region west of Kyoto which used such vessels to send its agricultural products to towns throughout western Japan. Tamba ware is recognized by its warm green glaze, created as accumulations of natural wood ash settle on the clay body and liquefy when the kiln temperature is sufficiently high. The jar's contours reveal that it was built in four stage...