Accessories
Inner box: Black lacquered with matching lid, inscribed with gold lettering by Matsudaira Fumai. Outer box: White paulownia wood with black persimmon edges, matching lid inscribed by Shirozu-an Kanna. Cover: Tenkei-nishiki stone-patterned fabric.
Provenance: Matsura family.
Dimensions
Height: 8.6 cm, mouth diameter: 15.2 cm, foot diameter: 6.2 cm, height: 0.9 cm, weight: 380 g.
Owner: Matsunaga Memorial Museum, Kanagawa
This is a plump bowl that was taken in from the Hatakeyama family due to a leak in the roof. As promised, the edges are turned up and the foot is wide, with bamboo joints. The carving inside the foot is thin on one side, and creases appear around the helmet-shaped rim, giving it a charming appearance. The carving on the side of the foot also adds to its appeal. The interior also features a large mirror-like depression, with four eye-like indentations protruding above it.
The glaze appears slightly yellowish, but this is likely due to the rainwater damage, which has altered the original color, which was originally slightly bluish. In Hatakeyama family tea bowls, rainwater stains typically form round shapes around pinholes, but in this bowl, they have formed along the cracks, resulting in a mostly ice-crack pattern. However, some round spots remain below the pinholes, and large lacquer stains spread around the rim, creating a highly varied appearance. These two bowls and the one in the Nezu Museum collection are considered the three masterpieces of rainwater stains.
Inner box: Black lacquer; lid underside: Inscription in gold powder by Matsudaira Fumai
Kuchinuru kaihori
The eaves gather
The rain pours down
The eight layers of the roof
Outer box: White paulownia wood with black persimmon edges; lid underside: Inscription by Shirozu-an Kan’a
Cover: Tenkyo jyo stone-patterned silk
