Old Seto, Revival Meibutsu
Accessories: Lid x1, Unmarked Enshu-style
Cover x3
Cover Box: White Paulownia Wood, Inscription
Hikiya: One. Flowered Cypress. Two-character “Hōtan” carving. By Kobori Enshū.
Hikiya Cover: Champa. Inner Box: White Paulownia Wood. Inscription: By Kobori Enshū.
Outer Box: Inscription.
Provenance
Kobori Enshū → Hotta Masamori → Tsuchiya Sagami-no-kami → Wakashū Sakai Family.
Recorded
Record of Famous Utensils, authored by Sakai Gagaku-no-Tō So-no-Masa; Yōkō Nikki; Record of the Great Tea Ceremony for the 300th Anniversary of Toyotomi Hideyoshi; Taishō Meiki Kan (Guide to Famous Utensils of the Taishō Era)
Dimensions
Height: 8.0 cm; Mouth Diameter: 2.4 cm; Body Diameter: 6.3 cm; Base Diameter: 3.9 cm; Weight: 85 g
Owner
Goto Museum of Art, Tokyo
The author recalls personally viewing and copying this piece during the auction of the renowned Wakashū Sakai family in 1923.
Though gourd-shaped, it lacks a beaded rim at the mouth, a defining characteristic. It forms a gently curved gourd shape with a slightly rounded base.It has body ribs. The overall glaze is a speckled brown, with yellow mottling appearing unevenly from the rim down the body. Below the waist, where the clay is visible, glaze has chipped off in spots, creating a textured appearance.
The replacement cover is made of Kinran, with a pattern of alternating stripes and solid sections, and Donshu, all harmoniously combined in color.
Hikiya: Two-character carving “Hana-kiri Hyōtan” (Flower Gourd Gourd) by Kobori Enshū
Inscription: By Kobori Enshū
Cover box: White paulownia wood: Inscription
