Height 18.1cm, mouth diameter 18.9cm, bottom diameter 12.0cm
Gyokusui Art Museum
This water jar is shaped like the crown of a Tang person, but the unexpectedly large ears on the left and right sides add interest to the piece. This kind of artifice is unique to Kyo-yaki pottery made mainly by Ninsei.
The mouth is almost flat and the rim rises vertically. The bottom is flat, with a flat lid that is harder and tighter than the body. The body and lid are both covered with a thin, even layer of transparent glaze, but the glaze on the underside is thin.
Although the shape is odd, the distortion is not emphasized as in the Oribe style of Momoyama period pottery, but is rather a characteristic of early Edo period Kyo-yaki pottery, which is characterized by its elegant, balanced appearance with a unique touch of artifice.
It has been speculated that this pottery was made for the garden of Shugakuin Rikyu, the detached palace of Gosui’o-in, but according to the “Bitan-ki,” the opening of the Shugakuin Rikyu pottery kiln is mentioned on December 5, Kanbun 4, so it is possible that Ninsei of Omuroyaki, the most famous master potter in Kyoto at the time, was involved in this work.
