Black Hikidashi Setoguro Tea Bowl
Artist
SHIRO Tsujimura
(Japanese, born 1947)
Date20th century
Mediumstoneware with iron glaze
Dimensions10.2 x 11.4 x 11.4 cm (4 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsCeramics
MarkingsCloth with seal "shi"
Credit LineStoddard Acquisition Fund
Terms
Object number2011.116
DescriptionA hikidashi-guro chawan ("pulled-out black tea bowl")Label TextThe difference between a great tea bowl and an ordinary one is the spirit imbued in it by the potter. Such a bowl also gives insight into the heart and spirit of its maker. Tsujimura Shiro, a tea master and self-taught, individualistic ceramic artist, specializes in creating tea wares. His works also have a special strength derived from the spirit he developed during early training at a Zen monastery. Tsujimura built a studio in the mountains near Nara and produces clay from deposits found on his own land. He creates a variety of wares but is most famous for his Setoguro (Black Seto) tea bowls. Hikidashi Seto-guro-style tea bowls, such as this example, are highly prized in the “Way of Tea.” Such sturdy bowls, with a very low foot, broad base and vertical sides, were first favored by the great tea master Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591). Historically "hikidashi-guro" (‘plucked-out black’) tea bowls were first used as temperature test pieces, placed near the side holes of the kiln. Pulled out at the height of the firing, to gauge if the kiln had reached a mature temperature, the bowls turned black when cooled with water. The ‘imperfections’ resulting from this creation process gave these vessels a sense of "wabi" (forlorn beauty) that was perfect for "wabi-cha," the form of tea ceremony emphasizing rustic simplicity. Glossy black tea bowls with subtle effects suggesting star-filled night skies, such as this example, are highly valued.
On View
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Chinese
12th or 13th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) or Southern song dynasty (1127–1279)
Chinese
12th or 13th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) or Southern song dynasty (1127–1279)
Chinese
11th or 12th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Chinese
late 11th century –early 12th century, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127)
late 14th–early 15th century
