Examples of Objects on Display

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  TEA BOWL, Tenmoku glaze with silvery spots

  National Treasure

  Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th Century
  Jian ware
  d:12.2cm
  Gift of SUMITOMO Group (The ATAKA Collection Accession No, 00559)
  Photograph KAZUYOSHI MIYOSHI

  The term tenmoku, derived from Mount Tianmu in northern Zhejiang Province, also refers to black-glazed bowls. Yuteki or oil-spotted tenmoku bowls were also produced at the Jian kilns in Fujian Province. The name yuteki describes the gold, silver and blue iridescent spots resembling the oil drops on the surface of the water. They are the result of crystallization of the iron contained in the glaze. In China yuteki is called dizhu or drops of jewel. The gold band covering the mouth rim is not only for reinforcing the mouth rim but also for visual attraction. This work was brought into Japan during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and owned by Chancellor Toyotomi Hidetsugu (1568-1595), which was later handed down through the Nishihonganji temple, the Mitsui Family of Kyoto and the Sakai Family of Wakasa Province (present-day Fukui Prefecture). Weight: 349g. Three pieces of lacquer tray from the Southern Song dynasty accompany this bowl.

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  BOTTLE, Celadon with iron brown spots

  National Treasure

  Yuan dynasty, 14th Century
  Longquan ware
  H. 27.4
  Gift of SUMITOMO Group (The ATAKA Collection Accession No, 00556)
  Photograph KAZUYOSHI MIYOSHI
  

  This type of ware, scattering iron spots on the body, was repeatedly produced at the Longquan kilns during the Yuan dynasty. In Japan, known as tobi-seiji or (iron-) scattered celadon, has been favored by tea masters. This piece is one of the most outstanding in terms of both the color of the glaze and the appearance of the iron spots. Bottles in such a form is called yuhuchun, the pleasant contrast of the slender neck and the pear-shaped swollen body demonstrating an extraordinary balance of the whole work. The glaze on the foot ring has been trimmed off for about five millimeters from the very bottom, exposing the dark, reddish brown clay body. This piece had been handed down through the Konoike family. Similar examples are housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK and the Baur Collection in Switzerland.