Height: 7.8 cm, Mouth Diameter: 9 cm, Foot Diameter: 4.4 cm
This semi-cylindrical tea bowl features a consistent, unvarying form; the rim is smooth and even, the body flares slightly at the waist, and the sides rise straight upward. The foot is small and slightly tall; the interior of the foot is deeply carved, and a small tea pool has been carved into the base. On one side of the exterior, two vertical lines of black glaze have been removed to reveal a thin layer of iron glaze; from the waist to the foot, the black glaze has run, creating irregular glaze breaks, and the foot and its surroundings are left with the white clay exposed. The black glaze melts well and has a lustrous sheen, with glaze pools forming in places. The “retirement seal” is stamped on the side of the foot. The accompanying box bears the inscription “Black Tea Bowl, made at Ishiyama Retirement Residence, by Raku Ryōin,” suggesting that this piece was created after Ryōin retired to Ishiyama at the age of seventy.
