Height 18.5 cm, mouth diameter 8.0 cm, left and right 12.7 cm, bottom diameter 9.0 cm
Idemitsu Museum of Arts
Korean karatsu vases have a straw ash glaze and a black glaze, but they also have a black-and-white glaze applied over the bare surface with a brush, as in this flower vase. This vase is the most outstanding of the two, and its shape, with ears on both sides, is artificial, yet sturdy and calm. It is made by pounding, with a flat bottom and a roughly four-sided body. The glaze, which is applied wetly over the burnished purple-brown surface, may at first glance appear complicated, but it is surprisingly effective when used in a tea ceremony room.
