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Double-gourd-shaped Water Jar (mizusashi)

Location

JAPAN, KYOTO
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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