Storage Jar: Sueki ware

700s
Diameter of mouth: 23.8 cm (9 3/8 in.); Overall: 49.2 x 50 cm (19 3/8 x 19 11/16 in.)
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location: not on view

Download, Print and Share

Description

This robust vessel was formed from clay coils that were beaten inside and out with wooden paddles to compress the body walls and merge the coils. In addition, the exterior surface was paddled and scored with carved wooden tools to decorate the body walls. Finally, the vessel was turned on a potter's wheel to attach the neck with a smoothly finished surface. A high firing (approximately 1000°), which culminated with a reduced oxygen phase, produced the dark gray surface tone. Sueki ware ceramics originated in the mid-400s, when Korean potters and kiln builders established clusters of kilns in the modern Osaka area. Other production centers were established in the outlying provinces by the late 500s, providing for the diffusion of this ceramic ware throughout the country into the 1000s. Sueki wares demonstrate ancient Japan's close cultural ties with the Korean peninsula. Similar vessels have been recovered from sites in the southern regions of the Korean peninsula.
Storage Jar: Sueki ware

Storage Jar: Sueki ware

700s

Japan, Nara period (710-94)

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.