8th century
Height 19.5 cm, mouth diameter 12.8 cm, body diameter 24.5 cm, bottom diameter 12.8 cm
The shoulders of this type of four-eared jar began to bend in a ridged pattern around the middle of the 8th century, but judging from the square ears, body shape, and base of this vessel, it is reasonable to date its production to the latter half of the 8th century.
The clay is a fine, sticky clay with iron content and a brownish-brown fire color on the entire surface. The clay is considered to be of Owari origin, judging from its clay flavor. The potter’s wheel was water-ground to give it a neat shape. The entire surface of the shoulder is covered with a dark green natural glaze, which overflows and runs down to the body. Some of the shoulder is covered with fallen material from the kiln. The glaze has peeled off in places, indicating that it has been in the ground for many years and was probably used as a warehouse boneware. Despite the soft clay, the neat shape and the dark green glaze on the shoulder give this jar a kind of strength. This is one of the finest of the four-mimi jars from the late Nara period.
