CC0 · no rights reserved
Tea Storage Jar
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineTea Storage Jar (茶壺), mid- to late 1600s. Nonomura Ninsei (Japanese, active 1640s–90s). Stoneware with white glaze (Shigaraki style); height: 28.3 cm (11 1/8 in.); diameter: 28.7 cm (11 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1978.6
