Untitled

Unknown

12th century · Stoneware with ash glaze (Echizen ware) · Asian Art

Beginning in the late Heian period, the Echizen kilns in central Japan produced sankinko jars and small bottles. This jar may have fallen over during firing, acquiring a blanket of uneven natural ash glaze, large cracks, and encrustations picked up from neighboring pots. Although it was probably never used, to the contemporary viewer it is an example of the simple beauty of random effects produced by a wood-fired kiln.

Artist

Unknown

Date

12th century

Medium

Stoneware with ash glaze (Echizen ware)

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Mary Griggs Burke, 1977