Height 7.8cm, mouth diameter 13.1cm, base diameter 4.9cm
Yugi Museum of Art
The inscription “Omuroyaki” on the cover of the inner box is said to have been written by Kanamori Munekazu.
This is the most expensive tea bowl by Ninsei, along with the “Ju-chawan in overglaze enamels with gold and silver lozenge design,” and it is indeed a delicate and elegant bowl that could only be made by Ninsei.
It has a thin, gentle arm shape with the mouth rim slightly turned inward and one side slightly concave, in the so-called “peach shape”. The base of the bowl is low, and the inside of the base has been neatly carved, and the tatami mat is one side thin. The entire body, leaving the base, is covered with a thick white glaze with fine penetrations. The moist and soft texture of the glaze is unique to Ninsei, and is unrivaled. The outer surface is overglazed with a fan-shaped pattern of three floating fans in flowing water, so-called “fan-flow” in elegant light colors. A cocoon-shaped “Ninsei” small seal in the shape of a cocoon is stamped on the left side of the base, but as a rule, the seal is carefully stamped in the center of the left side of all of Ninsei’s excellent works.
Although the origin of this work is not known, it was in the collection of Akahoshi Tetsuma during the Meiji period, later passed down to Kuhara Fusanosuke and then to the Yuki family, and was transferred to the Yuki Museum of Art in 1987.
