Storage Jar
Unknown Artist
14th–15th century
Medium
Stoneware with natural ash glaze (Tanba ware)
Dimensions
H. 16 7/8 in. (42.9 cm); Diam. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm)
Classification
Ceramics
Culture & Period
Japan · Muromachi period (1392–1573)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Accession Number
1975.268.427
Art Historical Context
This unassuming yet striking Storage Jar, crafted by an unknown artist in Japan's Tanba region during the 14th15th century Muromachi period (1392–1573), the rustic beauty of everyday ceramics elevated to art. Standing at 16⅞ inches tall with a 12½-inch diameter, it's made of durable stoneware coated in a natural ash glaze—a hallmark of Tanba ware one of Japan's ancient kilns. The glaze, formed spontaneously from wood ash in the kiln's high heat, creates earthy, mottled tones of brown, green, and subtle iridescence, embracing imperfection in a precursor to the wabi-sabi aesthetic. In the Murom...