Image: Showa Museum of Art, Nagoya
The exhibition focuses on approximately 40 ceramic tea utensils made overseas and in Japan, presenting objects associated with tea practice from both geographical contexts.
According to the museum’s account, vessels made in China, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asia and, from the 17th century onward, Europe were incorporated into tea settings alongside wares produced at kilns across Japan.
Among the listed works is ‘Nanban Imo-gashira Mizusashi,’ a Southeast Asian water container from the 16th century bearing the name ‘Shibugaki.’ The exhibition also lists ‘Oranda Sometsuke Hanamon Rinkabachi,’ a blue-and-white flower-patterned bowl made at the Delft kiln and dated to the 18th–19th century.
Japanese works include ‘Kuro Raku Wari-kodai Chawan,’ an early-Edo-period black Raku tea bowl with a split foot attributed to Raku Dōnyū.
Some of the displayed works will be replaced during the exhibition’s run, which is planned to include approximately 45 works overall.
