Water Container (Mizusashi) with Riverscape
Unknown Artist
late 1500s–early 1600s
Medium
Stoneware with underglaze iron oxide slip decoration (Mino ware, Shino type) and lacquer lid (modern replacement)
Dimensions
diam. 19.6 cm · lid: 2.9 × 14.7 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1972.9
About this artwork
Mizusashi are jars used to hold water for the preparation of tea at tea gatherings. This one was produced in the Mino area of present-day Gifu Prefecture in central Japan. It is called a “picture Shino” (e-shino) mizusashi, as it has an abstracted design on one side, said to resemble an ink painting of reeds and small boats along a riverbank, and a geometric pattern on the other. With its irregular shape and thick, luminous glaze, it is of a variety favored by eminent tea masters of the Momoyama...