Clog-shaped tea bowl (kutsu-gata chawan) with plum blossoms and geometric patterns

Japan

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 202

This tea bowl’s intentionally deformed shape recalls an ancient Japanese clog (kutsu). After shaping the bowl on the wheel, the potter created an irregular, asymmetrical form that would fit perfectly into the tea practitioner’s palms. The bold, stylized, and abstract patterns of plum blossoms, lines, and grids were applied with quick strokes. Drippings of the white slip and the iron-black enhance the tactility of the bowl’s surface.

Clog-shaped tea bowl (kutsu-gata chawan) with plum blossoms and geometric patterns, Stoneware with iron-oxide decoration (Mino ware, Black Oribe type), Japan

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Clog-shaped tea bowl (kutsu-gata chawan) with plum blossoms and geometric patterns, Stoneware with iron-oxide decoration (Mino ware, Black Oribe type), Japan
Clog-shaped tea bowl (kutsu-gata chawan) with plum blossoms and geometric patterns, Stoneware with iron-oxide decoration (Mino ware, Black Oribe type), Japan
Clog-shaped tea bowl (kutsu-gata chawan) with plum blossoms and geometric patterns, Stoneware with iron-oxide decoration (Mino ware, Black Oribe type), Japan
Clog-shaped tea bowl (kutsu-gata chawan) with plum blossoms and geometric patterns, Stoneware with iron-oxide decoration (Mino ware, Black Oribe type), Japan
Clog-shaped tea bowl (kutsu-gata chawan) with plum blossoms and geometric patterns, Stoneware with iron-oxide decoration (Mino ware, Black Oribe type), Japan
Clog-shaped tea bowl (kutsu-gata chawan) with plum blossoms and geometric patterns, Stoneware with iron-oxide decoration (Mino ware, Black Oribe type), Japan

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