Important Cultural Property
Height 42.4cm, Bowl diameter 12.3cm, Bottom diameter 14.5cm
Idemitsu Museum of Arts
This is probably the largest of Insei’s tea jars. The potter’s wheel is well extended and full, but as in the previous painting, the water-grinding marks are a little rough and the glaze is uneven.
The overglaze painting of mustard on the body also has the same characteristics as those on the Yoshinoyama tea jar in overglaze enamels. The overglaze overglaze painting on the body of this tea jar shows the same characteristics as those of the Yoshinoyama-zu tea jar, but the dark red brushstrokes and gold linework of the flowers are very poor and faltering. However, the composition of the poppy is well contained within the vase, giving it an air of spontaneity. The base of the clay is burnished red from the base of the body to the bottom, and the large seal “Insei” is stamped in the center of the flat bottom on the right side.
The date of production of these Inqing tea pots is not clear, but if they were all made by the first Inqing, they must have been made between the Ming dynasty and the Kanbun dynasty. When these gorgeous tea pots were first displayed in the tokonoma (alcove), the nobility of Kyoto must have exclaimed with delight at the appearance of a new form.
It was severely damaged in the Great Taisho Earthquake and has been repaired.
