mid 16th century

Muromachi period

Gray stoneware (reddish-brown on surface) with iron slip under iron glaze and fly-ash glaze
H: 33.5 W: 30.0 D: 30.0 cm
Toki, Japan

Purchase F1966.17 F1966.17a-d

Even in jars and bowls modeled after Chinese monochrome ceramics, the work of sixteenth-century Seto and Mino potters reflects the emergence of a Japanese preference for asymmetrical forms and lustrous, richly colored glazes. The name Sobokai is written on the base of this jar. Iron-rich Sobokai clay, very dark when fired, was preferred for making jars to store tea leaves and tea caddies for the tea powder. A coating of iron-bearing clay solution, called slip, enhances the clay's color.