Tea jar with phoenix design in overglaze enamels.
Important Cultural Property
Height 46.0 cm, mouth diameter 20.3 cm, bottom diameter 19.5 cm
This is probably the largest of all the tea jars produced by Inqing. It is a so-called “agarwood” style tea jar with a large knob in the shape of a jewel and a large knob on the lid. The design of the overglaze painting on the entire surface is different from that of the Insei type, and may have been influenced by the Ko-Imari style. However, the peony, cloisonne, or chrysanthemum arabesque design in the window is also a unique expression of Insei, and the phoenix design is depicted on all four sides of the body and in the Kakusa-ma style window. The body is thinly decorated with a white glaze, but the glaze is not very thick. The soft and fine-grained clay is stamped with the large seal of Inqing in the center of the left side of the bottom.
