Height: 6.0 cm, Mouth Diameter: 13.7 cm, Foot Diameter: 5.2 cm
Raku Museum
This is a generously sized flat tea bowl featuring a stepped interior rim; there is no tea pool at the base, and the body is quite strongly flared. The foot is small, with a mark at the edge of the footring. The entire piece is thoroughly covered in black glaze; a thick curtain glaze extends from the rim to the lower body, and where the curtain glaze breaks, white snake-and-scorpion glaze appears, creating an interesting visual effect. A Raku seal is stamped inside the footring, but because it is a crushed seal covered by thick glaze, the seal impression is indistinct. Five finger marks remain on the foot rim. On the inside of the lid of the inner box, Kakukaku Saigenso has inscribed: “Nonkō Black Tea Bowl, Enji, Left (Seal).” This tea bowl shares the same style as “Zansetsu” and is one of the masterpieces among fully glazed tea bowls. The inscription by Kakukaku Saigenso on the box is also excellent.
