Chungking specialties
Attachment
Tenmoku-dai (stand), black lacquered with a chrysanthemum design in blue shell
Tenmokudai box, paulownia wood, calligraphy by Enshu Kobori
Inner box, black lacquered, with gold-painted lettering, calligraphy by the same calligrapher
Attributed to
Tsuchiya Sagamimori – Kutsuki family (Kansei) – Akahoshi family 1, Masuda Benizen (1917)
Listed in
Tsuchiya warehouse book, Meibutsu Ki, Kokin Meibutsu Ruiju, Akahoshi Family Tool Book, Taisho Meikikan (Taisho Meikikan)
Dimensions
Height: 7.0 cm, mouth diameter: 12.5 cm, base diameter: 3.5 cm, weight: 272 g
This piece is also sometimes called “Ran-tenmoku” after the design inside. Here we only call it Tortoiseshell cup according to the description on the box. The clay and construction are the same as the original, but the rim of this piece has the same twist back as the Tortoiseshell cups made in Jian kiln. This is not common in Tortoiseshell cups made in Jizhou kiln. The outer surface is covered with tortoiseshell glaze as usual, but the black underglaze is a bit different from the usual tortoiseshell cups because of the slightly lighter mottled glaze of the “udo”.
The inside of the cup is decorated with the image of two birds. Some people think it is a long-tailed bird, but it is more appropriate to think of it as a phoenix, considering that it was made in China. In the center of the bowl is a flower in the style of a plum bowl, and between the phoenix and the phoenix is a butterfly. The dark black ground glaze underneath makes these patterns, especially the phoenix, stand out clearly and strikingly.
