Height 9.0cm, mouth diameter 10.9cm, base diameter 5.7cm
This tea bowl is similar in style to the Black Oribe Amiboshi Tea Bowl, but it is made in almost four directions from the mouth to the body, and has an irregularly rounded base. As usual, the mouth is stepped and the body is vertically carved with two stripes on one side and one on the other, and covered with white feldspar glaze and black glaze separately. Under the thin feldspar glaze, a two-tiered design of plaid and iris is painted, and around the mouth, which is black-glazed, the glaze is scraped away to form the “ma-do” pattern, which is overlaid with white glaze. The black-glazed mouth is unglazed and covered with a white glaze. The iris and plaid patterns depicted on this bowl are the same as those found on armor and other dyed leather from ancient times, and the Mino potters used them in their tea bowls.
This tea bowl is also softly fired and is one of the best bowls among the Kurooribe ware. The kiln mark “I” is engraved on the base of the bowl, and this seal is said to be the name of Genzo, one of the ten Seto works from the 79th century. This is an inscription that is often seen on Shino and Oribe wares, and the legend of Motozo’s work is doubtful because the style of the work is not always the same. After all, this may also be the mark of the owner who ordered it.
This is a tea bowl formerly owned by the Fujita family in Osaka, and “Oribe, Masagaki” is written in gold powder characters on the front cover of the box.
