Momoyama Period Shino-Oribe Chawan with cross design 9.500 $ sold
Another stunning and important cultural highlight of our collection: distorted shoe shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl made of light, fine, unrefined Mino clay. Shape and style make it appear contemporary with the late Oribe bowls.
The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical black oniita engobe inside and outside - with the exception of the bottom - applied with a brush sparing out a cross mark on one side and a kind of a window with a land scope in flying brush style (haboku) over which a white, feldspatic Shino glaze has been poured.
Just the foot ring and its immediate surrounding were left unglazed.
The somewhat irregular foot is typical for the late production of the 1620ies at the Motoyashiki and Kamagane kilns. Within the foot ring is a kiln mark.
The bowl has a beautiful shape and is well balanced.
Tea bowls and other tea related items with decoration of a Christian cross are known, BUT ARE VERY VERY RARE - chiefly for the reason that Christian religion became prohibited in the early Edo Period (1614 - the year in which Oribe pupil Takayama Ukon was expelled from Japan) and the prohibition was rigorously enforced (especially after the Shimbara rebellion in 1637) with death penalty - CONSEQUENTLY ALL EXISTING PEACES WERE DESTROYED.
Considering this political environment, the bowl was surely manufactured before 1614.
Beside our chawan there is another known tea bowl with cross design, which is exhibited in the Nanban Bunkakan Museum in Osaka, please refer to picture 12.
For further information please read the book 'Turning Point - Oribe and the Arts of Sixteenth-Century Japan', The Metropolitan Museum of Arts New York, Yale University Press New Haven and London.
Size: 7,8 cm height x 13,6 cm in diameter
Shipping included.
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Kutsugata Mugi-de Oribe Chawan sold
We proudly present this outstanding Mugi-de Oribe Chawan - kind of rare!
Distorted half cylinder shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl with slightly flaring mouth made of light, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potters knife. With the exception of the foot ring the bowl is covered with a clear (wood ash and feldspar) glaze inside and out. Under the glaze the outer wall is decorated with parallel vertical lines in iron oxide alternating: 3 lines dark brown, one line light brown/orange. This decoration is called mugi-de in Japan, it is frequently seen on vases and bottles, but very, very rare on tea bowls.
The somewhat irregular but very strong foot is typical for the late production of the 1620ies at the Motoyashiki kiln. No repairs. Great antique condition.
It comes with a very old wood box.
Size: 7,5 cm height x 14,2 cm in diameter.
Shipping included
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Stunning Grey Shino Oribe Chawan Momoyama / early Edo Period 2500 $ sold
Slightly distorted cylinder shaped (hanzutsu) tea bowl made of fine, light, unrefined Mino clay, containining a little iron oxide. Shape and style make it appear contemporary with the late Oribe bowls. The expertly thrown body is covered with the typical black oniita engobe inside and outside - with the exception of the bottom - over which a white, feldspatic Shino glaze has been poured. Just the foot ring and its immediate surrounding was left unglazed. The decoration scratched into the iron oxide engobe is a group of Japanese Cedars (sugi), a decoration known from black Oribe bowls.
The somewhat irregular foot is typical for the late production of the 1620ies at the Motoyashiki and Kamagane kilns.
The bowl has a beautiful shape and is well balanced. It comes with a good wood box and a chakin cloth. This chawan is a true masterpiece.
Size: 8,8 cm height x 12,7 cm in diameter.
Shipping included.
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Momoyama Period Grey Shino Chawan with rare Zen Design 2100 $ sold
Half cylinder shaped (Hanzutsu) tea bowl, thrown from light, coarse Mino clay, with very little inclusions a clay found on earlier Shino bowls. The walls are cut with a potters knife.
The bowl has been covered fully (with the exception of the foot ring) first with an iron bearing engobe (oniita) and after the decoration had been incised with the typical ash and feldspar glaze inside and outside creating the nezumi-shino glaze.
The decoration in white Shino glaze on this bowl are a circle, a triangle and a rectangle, rarely seen on antique tea bowls and very symbolic in the iconography of Zen buddhism, with many interpretations. Very famous is for example the zenga by the Rinzai monk Sengai Gibon (1750-1837), published by the Zen philosopher Suzuki Daisetsu (Daisetz) under the title 'Universe'. Please refer to picture no. 10.
The bowl comes with a very good wood box and a fine shifuku.
No cracks or repairs.
Size: 8,3 cm height x 11,6 cm in diameter. Shipping included
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Splendid Ko-Karatsu Tenmoku Chawan of Momoyama Period 1500 $ sold
Here we present a real old Ko-Karatsu Tenmoku Chawan with a wonderful yobitsugi repair. It dates from the early stages of the Japanese Azushi-Momoyama Period (1573-1603).
A yobitsugi repair is not just a simple repair, it is a recreation by using laquer and some fragments of broken pottery of the same or a similar kiln. The result is a breathtaking consistency of 'landscape' (keshiki). The chawan is ready for use - tea does not leak.
A characteristic feature of the use of lacquer to repair ceramics is the fact that, in addition to the wholly practical function of restoring the fuctional usefulness of cherished ceramic artifacts, lacquer simultaneously also serves as a medium for the artistic and aesthetic transformation of the flawed object through intentional inclusion of the damage. Hence, when restoring with lacquer, the intention is not to render the damage wholly invisible, but rather to use the injury as the central element for the metamorphosis of the damaged ceramic into an object imbued with new characteristics and with an appearance that exerts a completely different effect . As a general rule, the repaired artifact acquires far higher value and enjoys greater appreciation than it had in its previously undamaged state.
The explanation for this can be found in a distinctively Japanese aesthetic perception and sensitivity which, rather than considering defects, wear associated with ageing, and imperfections in general as flaws, is able to discover a profound and touching quality in them. The roots of this mode of perception and sensitivity can be traced to the aesthetic ideals of wabi and sabi, which originated in the art of poetry and were firmly incorporated into the art of tea by the great tea masters Takeno Joo (1502–1555) and Sen no Rikyu (1522–1591).
The chawan comes with a good wood box.
Size: 2,7'' height x 4,7'' in diameter.
Shipping included
Momoyama Ko-Karatsu Madara Tea Bowl 4500 $ sold
Really important Ko-Karatsu (kogaratsu - oldest Karatsu ware made during the 16th century) Madara tea bowl with a yobitsugi repair of highest quality.
The bowl is a so called Madara Karatsu tea bowl (provenance is the legendary Hobashira-kiln) due to its typical cookie-like sandy clay and wonderful blue-purplish flecks.
But its true highlight is the perfect traditional yobitsugi restoration with a pure silver gintsugi (kintsugi). A yobitsugi repair is not just a simple repair, it is a recreation by using laquer, silver or gold and some fragments of broken pottery of the same or a similar kiln (here we have parts of THE SAME KILN). The result is a breathtaking consistency of 'landscape' (keshiki).
It is no exaggeration to say that this Ko-Karatsu tea bowl needs to be described as a true museum quality piece of art.
The bowl comes with an old wooden box and a shifuku.
Size: 6 cm height x 12,3 cm in diameter.
Shipping included
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Mugi-de Oribe Chawan Momoyama Era 5000 $ sold
We are proud to present this extremely rare mugi-de Oribe chawan dating back to early stage of the Momoyama Period. It is a slightly distorted cylidrical shape Hanzutsu tea bowl with flaring brim and trimmed sides. The bowl was covered with a Shino-Oribe-type glaze (a feldspat glaze with a higher content of ash than Shino).
Under the decoration of vertical parallel lines in four different shades of brown, which gave this decor the name 'mugi-de', which means barley straw. This design is rarely seen on tea bowls. Highly recommended for exclusive collections.
No chips or cracks.
It comes with a good wooden box and a fine silk pouch.
Size: 8,4 cm height x 12,6 cm in diameter.
Shipping included.
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Momoyama Period Ao-Oribe Chawan sold
A true treasure! Slightly distorted shoe shaped (kutsugata) tea bowl with a rounded brim, made of light, coarse, unrefined Mino clay. The expertly thrown body was trimmed with a potter's knife in its lower part around the foot ring.
The bowl was covered with a green copper oxide glaze. A window on the side was left unglazed and split in two halves - one was decorated with iron oxide engobe which was decorated with incised straight zig-zag lines, the other half was decorated with a scetch of a traveller's hat and two birds (chidori - plovers) in iron oxide on the unglazed white clay, over which finally a transparent ash glaze was applied. Opposite to the 'outside window' is an 'inner window' decorated with straight and zig-zag lines in iron oxide under ash glaze.
This unique chawan comes with a good wooden box.
Size: 7,7 cm height x 14,4 cm in diameter.
Shipping included
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Momoyama Period Nezumi-Shino Chawan sold
