Water Container (Mizusashi) with Riverscape
Unknown Artist
late 1500s–early 1600s
Medium
Stoneware with underglaze iron oxide slip decoration (Mino ware, Shino type)
Dimensions
{"diameter":{"width":0.196},"lid":{"height":0.029,"width":0.147},"container":{"height":0.184}}
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1972.9.a
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, and is considered one of the finest of its type in existence, based on the complex aesthetic sensibilities developed around the tea ceremony in Japan. It is called a “picture Shino” (e-shino) mizusashi, as it has an abstracted design said to resemble an ink painting of reeds along a river bank and small boats in a river on one...