Tea Storage Jar
mid- to late 1600s
Medium
Stoneware with white glaze (Shigaraki style)
Dimensions
diam. 28.7 cm · height: h. 28.3 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1978.6
Tags
About this artwork
In this tea storage jar, Nonomura Ninsei reinterpreted a Shigaraki stoneware—made to hold agricultural products and known for its warm orange color, asymmetrical round forms, and irregular natural ash glazes—to produce a more refined piece that would appeal to tea masters seeking a touch of rusticity. In Japanese tea culture, hanging scroll paintings or calligraphy are placed in the tokonoma, or viewing alcove, for participants to admire and discuss along with the utensils used in the gathering....