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Storage Jar
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The red color of this jar comes from iron in the clay. Natural ash glaze settled on the vessel during firing. The rim would have been complete with a slightly flared lip. Around the collar is an incised pattern resembling cypress fences, a common scene in the Japanese landscape. Intended for grain storage, rustic vessels like this one were also prized by tea enthusiasts, who appreciated the uncalculated beauty of the glaze and the asymmetry of these humble vessels.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineStorage Jar (壺), late 1300s–1400s. Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573). Stoneware with natural ash glaze (Shigaraki ware); height: 45.7 cm (18 in.); diameter: 42 cm (16 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1973.18
