Storage Jar (Tsubo

Echizen ware is notable for being fired without applied glazes, and it is often left undecorated. This jar may have toppled during firing, acquiring an uneven blanket of natural ash glaze, along with large cracks and encrustations from neighboring pots. Its relatively narrow foot likely contributed to the kiln accident that produced a long tear from base to rim and distorted the vessel’s overall form. Kiln debris remains fused to the surface, the foot, and even the interior, as seen in the X-ray. The natural ash glaze—rich in fluxes, or oxides that stimulate the liquidation of silica—melted fluidly over the stoneware body, forming rivulets that trace the flow of molten ash. These patterns allow conservators to reconstruct the jar’s orientation in the kiln and the moment of its collapse. .