Cleveland Museum of Art

Large Jar

Date

1400s

Medium

stoneware with natural ash glaze (Shigaraki ware)

Culture

Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The orange color of this jar comes from iron in the clay. Natural ash glaze settled on the vessel during firing. Originally intended for grain storage, rustic containers like this one were also prized by tea enthusiasts, who appreciated the uncalculated beauty of the glaze and the asymmetry of these humble objects. They used them to store tea leaves.

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