Height: 6.1 cm, Mouth Diameter: 13.0 cm, Foot Diameter: 4.2 cm
This tea bowl features a shape known as “well-shaped,” and Könyū produced a set of seven bowls, each with a different glaze variation. The rim is flared, the body is rounded, and it features a distinct, flat, circular foot with a stepped edge. A deep tea pool with exposed clay is formed on the interior, creating a bowl that, while well-shaped, has a robust and sturdy appearance. The interior and exterior of the footring are left unglazed, and the black glaze is applied unevenly, varying in thickness. Where the glaze breaks, tea pools form, and on the interior, snake-and-scorpion glaze and yellow flaking appear, creating a bowl with a lively glaze pattern. On the side of the footring of each of the seven bowls, Seisai has written the seven characters “Fushin-an Sen Sōsa (signature)” one by one in red lacquer. Additionally, the Hachiraku seal is stamped on the side of the foot, and the inscription “Twelfth Generation” is carved there. Since Seisai has inscribed “Made by Kichizaemon, Kuroido-style tea bowl, set of seven, Year of the Dragon (Bingchen), Seisai” on the underside of the box lid, this work was created when Kōnyū was sixty years old.
