Untitled

Unknown

early 12th century · Stoneware with natural ash glaze (Tokoname ware) · Asian Art

Made at Tokoname, one of Japan’s oldest pottery centers, this jar was coil-built and then smoothed on a wheel, a process that inspired its regionally distinctive embellishment of three lightly incised rings. Colors ranging from pale blue to vernal green cloak thick layers of kiln-fused ash glaze. Buried sometime in the late Heian period, this jar protected a bronze cylinder containing precious Buddhist sutras and relics.

Artist

Unknown

Date

early 12th century

Medium

Stoneware with natural ash glaze (Tokoname ware)

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Dr. and Mrs. Roger G. Gerry Collection, Bequest of Dr. and Mrs. Roger G. Gerry, 2000