The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 21, 2024

Storage Jar (Tsubo)

Storage Jar (Tsubo)

1400s
Diameter: 47.5 cm (18 11/16 in.); Overall: 53 cm (20 7/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

This bulbous clay jar, with its expansive, dry orange-brown surface, white dots of feldspathic stone, and spidery crazing marks epitomizes one type of medieval ware from Shigaraki. This region east of Kyoto and north of the older cultural and religious center of Nara has long been known as a source of superior clay material. Shigaraki storage jars were crafted for strength and durability. The vessel's slightly lopsided shape shows precisely where its three lower clay sections connect with one another. The "stubble" on the upper shoulder sections is highlighted by dripping rivulets of dull-green ash glaze in one small area on the broken neck. The same natural glaze runs over the slope of the shoulder and also appears as a large splash of thin, glossy olive green where the shoulder joins the upper body.
  • Longhi, Leighton R. Leighton R. Longhi: Forty-Five Years in Asian Art. [New York, N.Y.]: Leighton R. Longhi, 2019. Reproduced: p. 345, fig. 360
  • Ink Paintings and Ash-Glazed Ceramics: Medieval Calligraphy, Painting, and Ceramic Art from Japan and Korea. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 19-May 28, 2000).
    CMA, September 19 - December 3, 1995: "Asian Autumn: Early Ceramics from Japan and Korea," gallery 121, no catalogue
    CMA, 19 March-28 May, 2000: Ink Painting and Ash-Glazed Ceramics: Medieval Calligraphy, Painting, and Ceramic Art from Japan and Korea, no. 32, 90-92 (repr.)
  • {{cite web|title=Storage Jar (Tsubo)|url=false|author=|year=1400s|access-date=21 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2015.492