Important Cultural Property
Height 28.6cm, Bowl diameter 10.5cm, Body diameter 27.1cm, Bottom diameter 11.5cm
Seikado Bunko
The shape is similar to that of the tea jar with wisteria flowers in overglaze enamels and the tea jar with moon and plum blossoms in overglaze enamels, but there are two lines of wheel-thrown lines around the base of the neck, and the ears on the four sides of the shoulder are slightly closer to the mouth. The white glaze applied over the entire surface from the mouth to the base of the body is thick and thin and uneven around the mouth, while the neck is mottled with rabbit spots.
The primary characteristic of this tea jar is that it is partially covered with a black glaze, commonly called “Ninsei black,” as is the case with the “Tea Jar with Designs of Wakamatsu and Faraway Mountains in Iroe (Wakamatsu).” The jet-black glaze brings out the Genji cloud around the shoulder and the design of Yoshinoyama with cherry blossoms in full bloom, giving it an even more maki-e-like appearance.
Large works by Ninsei, such as tea pots and water jars, are made of a slightly coarse clay, similar to Shigaraki clay, so that they can be easily ground on a potter’s wheel.
