Double-gourd-shaped Water Jar (mizusashi)
Location
Kyoto ware
Era
Edo period (1615-1868)
Title
Double-gourd-shaped Water Jar (mizusashi)
Date
Possibly late 17th c.
Materials
Stoneware, lacquered wood
Dimensions
18.7 cm (h.), 18.5 cm (diam.)
Credits
Adaline Van Horne Bequest, inv. 1944.Dp.89a-b
Collection
Archeology and World Cultures
Water jars (mizusashi) were used in the tea ceremony to hold fresh water to be boiled. The double-gourd shape of this jar was intentionally distorted and is reminiscent of the bold aesthetics of the tea ceremony of the Momoyama period (1573-1615). Such distorted shapes were frequently seen in Shigaraki ware, and here, the Kyoto potter seems to have faithfully copied the prototype, using the clay from the Shigaraki area.
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