Height: 8.8cm
Diameter: 12.7cm
Height of foot ring: 7.5cm
Height of foot ring: 0.7-0.8cm
Nezumi Shino ware is fired in kilns throughout Mino. There are plain pieces and pieces with white carved patterns that look like inlays, but the color of the mouse varies depending on the shade of the painted demon plate and the amount of Shino glaze. Fragments of this tea bowl with exactly the same glaze and workmanship have been excavated from the Yagaya kiln.
On this tea bowl, there is a purplish-black pattern that looks like a drawing, but it is doubtful whether it was drawn intentionally.
On rare occasions, there are examples of tea bowls that have been painted with iron on a thin layer of yellow earth called “red raku” in the local area, but this pattern is different from that. It is not clear whether it is a natural result of the thickness of the demon plate, but it is certain that it is the result of the brush.
The clay is a type of clay with little stickiness, which is commonly called mugusa-do, and it is a type of clay with a rough texture and a little sand. In Okaya, it is thought that the clay used was probably from the Ohira area. In order to make a soft-feeling Shino, it is better for the clay not to be fired too hard. The clay from the Gotomaki area is extremely varied, with fine and coarse grains, and some with a lot of iron and some with little. Oribe’s kiln used this Gotomaki clay.
The foot ring is a relaxed double foot ring. There is a kiln mark inside the foot ring. Engoro (sleeves) with the same mark also come from the same kiln site.
As the kiln mark is found on both the product and the sleeve, it is thought that the mark was used to distinguish between products when they were fired in a shared kiln. It is also possible that the maker consciously marked their work to show that it was their own.
The shape is three bulges around the waist, and the center of the body has a knobby texture like a bamboo joint, and the other side shows a sharp beveled spatula. It is a heavy, imposing tea bowl that is obviously bold and imposing. Holding this tea bowl in your hand, you can almost imagine a scene from the Momoyama period, with a samurai warrior sipping tea. The “Tiger” bowl, “Hagoromo”, “Asahikage” and “Asahibagi” are all made by the same potter.
The interior is spacious, and there is a mirror that is slightly carved in a spiral shape. The color of the light purple-tinged gray is also very interesting.
There is nothing worth seeing in the box or other accessories.
