Height 8.6 cm, mouth diameter 3.3 cm, bottom diameter 4.8 cm
Tokyo National Museum
This is the only known example of a painted karatsu tea caddy with a shoulder-jointed shape. The shape is clearly modeled after the Seto tea caddy, and it was probably made around the Bunroku or Keicho period.
The body is painted with a simple and elegant brushwork unique to Karatsu, with a tree painted on the front and vine-like designs on the other two sides, and a petal pattern on the shoulder.
The ash-colored feldspar glaze has deepened over time to a darker, kutuba (decayed leaves) color, creating a magnificent Wabi-style tool. The base is low, the tatami mats are burnished red, and the inside of the base is shallowly chiseled.
It was donated to the Tokyo National Museum by Matsushige Hirota.
