The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 13, 2024

Water Container (Mizusashi) with Riverscape

Water Container (Mizusashi) with Riverscape

late 1500s–early 1600s
(1573-1615) to Edo period (1615-1858)
Stoneware with underglaze iron oxide slip decoration (Mino ware, Shino type) and lacquer lid (modern replacement)
Diameter: 19.6 cm (7 11/16 in.); Lid: 2.9 x 14.7 cm (1 1/8 x 5 13/16 in.); Container: 18.4 cm (7 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1972.9
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The water this container held during a tea gathering was used to fill the kama, or iron pot in which the water is heated.

Description

Mizusashi are jars used to hold water for the preparation of tea at tea gatherings. This one was produced in the Mino area of present-day Gifu Prefecture in central Japan. It is called a “picture Shino” (e-shino) mizusashi, as it has an abstracted design on one side, said to resemble an ink painting of reeds and small boats along a riverbank, and a geometric pattern on the other. With its irregular shape and thick, luminous glaze, it is of a variety favored by eminent tea masters of the Momoyama period.
  • ?-1972
    (Gatodo Gallery Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1972-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 379 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E, Ursula Korneitchouk, Michael R Cunningham, Ursula Korneitchouk, Cleveland Museum of Art, Japan House Gallery, Japan Society (New York, N.Y.), and Japan House Gallery. One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650): From the Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue. New York: Japan Society, 1981. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 75, no. 41
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Jenifer Neils. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 141-142, no. 145
    Cunningham, Michael R. The Triumph of Japanese Style: 16th-Century Art in Japan. Cleveland, OH: Published by the Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with the Indiana University Press, 1991. Reproduced: p. 137
    Takeuchi, Junʼichi 竹内順一, and Dean Robson. Oribe, iwayuru Oribeizumu ni tsuite: Gifuken Bijutsukan kaikan 15-shūnen kinenten [織部, いわゆるオリベイズムについて : 岐阜県美術館開館 15周年記念 = Oribe, (re)searching "Oribeism" : special exhibition for the 15th anniversary of the Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu]. Gifu-shi: Gifu-ken Bijutsukan, 1997. Reproduced: p. 97, cat. no. 50
  • Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 2-July 9, 2018).
    Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 27-August 23, 2009).
    Turning Point: Oribe and the Arts of Sixteenth-Century Japan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (October 21, 2003-January 11, 2004).
    ORIBE: Researching "Oribeism". Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu (organizer) (October 1-December 20, 1997).
    Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-August 22, 1982).
    One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650) from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Japan House Gallery, New York, NY (March 19-May 17, 1981).
    Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).
  • {{cite web|title=Water Container (Mizusashi) with Riverscape|url=false|author=|year=late 1500s–early 1600s|access-date=13 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.9