Cleveland Museum of Art

Tea Storage Jar

Nonomura Ninsei

Date

mid- to late 1600s

Medium

Stoneware with white glaze (Shigaraki style)

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In this tea storage jar, Nonomura Ninsei reinterpreted a Shigaraki stoneware—made to hold agricultural products and known for its warm orange color, asymmetrical round forms, and irregular natural ash glazes—to produce a more refined piece that would appeal to tea masters seeking a touch of rusticity. In Japanese tea culture, hanging scroll paintings or calligraphy are placed in the tokonoma , or viewing alcove, for participants to admire and discuss along with the utensils used in the gathering. The scrolls are typically paired with vessels containing seasonal floral arrangements. This jar may be considered an example of the aesthetic known as kireisabi , or refined rusticity.

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