Shigaraki ware tea bowl

A Shigakari ware tea bowl (chawan). H 8,5 cm, D 12,5 cm. Signed on the bottom with an impressed seal. Perfect condition. 

 

The chawan is used for preparing and drinking tea. First imported from China to Japan in the 13th century up to the 16th century, when the Japanse started producing tea bowls themselves.

 

Shigaraki was one of the ancient centres of pottery producing domestic wares, in the area which now forms Shiga Prefecture. Robust, thick-walled Shigaraki ware has been made since the waning years of the Kamakura period (1185-1333). It is made with a sandy clay containing felspar which is distinctly visible through the ash glaze.

    Like it's close cousin Bizen, Shigaraki wares were originally daily utensils with tsubo, kame (wide-mouthed jars) and suribachi (grinding bowls) the main staples. Not until the tea masters of the Muromachi (1336-1568) and Momoyama periods (1568-1603) favored these natural wares did they develop into one of Japan's most loved ceramic styles.