Stoneware Ceramics

This large, glazed stoneware vessel is a Meiji-era Japanese storage jar (tsubo) used for storing rice wine, water or even tea leaves and spices. Sometimes referred to as a Martaban jar due to historic trade routes, this style of unrefined, ovoid jar was common throughout East Asia as everyday containers for liquids and foodstuffs. The large vessel is sculpted to a tapered form with broad shoulders, a narrow base, and a constrained neck flanked by two small loop handles. The interior and shoulders are drenched in a thin, iron-rich glaze that imparts a glassy, dark brown finish and drips down the unglazed sides with irregular movement. Beautifully imperfect, the jar's textured finish and subtle asymmetry honors the spirit of wabi-sabi and recalls primitive medieval Japanese...