Tsubo jar, Japan, Medieval period.

This tsubo jar, 38 cm high and 31 cm wide, dates back to the end of the Muromachi period (around 1500). Made of red clay, it reveals a dense material, dotted with grains of sand that highlight the vigor of the stoneware. Firing in a tunnel kiln (anagama) left large vitrified flows that run over the belly while the wood dust, carried by the air from the fire, was deposited randomly.

Where the natural varnish could not adhere, iron oxides reddened the surface, creating reddish-brown patches like reliefs in a mineral landscape. The short neck, with its flattened lip, is distinguished by its simplicity. This type of tsubo jar was used to store fresh water for the tea ceremony, which was then filled into smaller containers.

Although several kilns produced Tsubo jars during this period, the shape and type of glaze are more reminiscent of Tokoname production.

Born on the Chita Peninsula, the Tokoname workshops were producing robust stoneware from the 12th century onwards, but it was with the rise of chanoyu in the 14th century that their imposing jars gained their status: utilitarian and bearers of a wabi-sabi aesthetic, they embody the beauty of the imperfect and the ephemeral, a legacy of Zen thought that crossed the sea from China.

This piece illustrates the balance between the technical mastery of Tokoname potters and the accidental poetry of fire. The marks left by other pottery stuck to the stoneware, the small cracks and irregularities of the modeling invite the eye to wander, transforming the surface of the object into a contemplative relief. An object of function and meditation, this tsubo jar carries the memory of a medieval Japan where the daily gesture became ritual and where each imperfection was celebrated as a trace of time.

Many museums such as the Metropolitan or the British Museum hold similar jars.

Height 38cm

Diameter 31 cm