Minneapolis Institute of Art

Tea caddy

Japan

Date

late 16th century

Medium

Seto ware, stoneware with iron-rich glaze, lid: ivory

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This tea caddy (a vessel for powdered tea), with its short neck, rounded rim, and sharply angled shoulder, was modeled on Chinese examples first brought to Japan in the 1300s. However, it differs from more precisely crafted Chinese prototypes in important ways that are in keeping with the prevailing wabi (imperfect or rustic) aesthetic of Japan’s tea culture in the late 1500s. For example, the potter’s hand is revealed in the slight modulation of the body and the eye-catching pattern created through variations in the brown glaze. Although this tea caddy has traditionally been associated with kilns in the Seto region of central Japan, it was more likely produced at a kiln in neighboring Mino, an area to which many Seto potters moved in the late 1500s. Asia

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