Detail View: The AMICA Library: Square Serving Dish with Bail Handle

ASIA.1979.226

1998

Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects

Asian; Far East Asian; Japanese

Japanese

Square Serving Dish with Bail Handle

Full view

Momoyama period, late 16th century

1567

1599

Stoneware painted with iron brown on slip under glaze and a partial overlay of copper-green glaze (Mino ware, Oribe type)

Ceramics

Japan, Gifu Prefecture

5 1/2 x 8 1/8 x 8 1/8 in. (14 x 20.4 x 20.4 cm) with handle

Asia Society

New York, New York, USA

1979.226

Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection

http://www.asiasociety.org

The development of certain types of Japanese ceramics, such as Iga and Mino wares, and the use of ceramics for serving food and eating are linked to the evolution of the tea ceremony (chanoyu) in Japan. The drinking of powdered green tea (matcha) whipped with boiling water came from China to Japan at the end of the 12th century together with the Zen sect of Buddhism and a certain complex of cultural practices, philosophical pursuits, and artistic styles. This tea was first used in Zen monasteries as an aid to meditation and as a part of formal gatherings. The drinking of this type of tea spread from Zen circles to the Japanese aristocracy, who organized formal tea ceremonies. The tea ceremonies also served as a means of displaying the host's treasures, which at first were primarily Chinese in origin and included refined ceramics as well as paintings, lacquers, and other objects. Over time, as the tea ceremony was redefined under the guidance of various tea masters, new tastes emerged, andeveryday Korean ceramics as well as stonewares produced in Japanese kilns began to be appreciated for their unpolished charms and used in the tea ceremony.

By the 16th century, Japanese ceramics were in great demand for use in both the tea ceremony andthe kaiseki meal served before the more formal type of tea ceremonies. In Japan, wood and lacquer had traditionally been used for dining, and the use of ceramics for the kaiseki meal and tea ceremony helped to spur their use in homes. Equally important was the introduction in the late 15th century, probably from Korea, of a new and larger type of kiln that facilitated the manufacture of the high-fired, glazed stonewares characteristic of Japanese 16th- and 17th-century ceramics.

One of only two complexes that produced glazed ceramics prior to the 16th century, the Mino kilns were located around the modern cities of Tajimi, Toki, and Mizunami (excavations have uncovered over seventy kilns), and are no

Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 101.

Meech-Pekarik, Julia. 'Notable Japanese Ceramics.' Apollo (November 1983), p. 432.

Shimada, Shujiro, ed. Zaigai Nihon no shiho (Japanese Art Treasures Abroad). Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbun, 1981, vol. 9, pl. 31.

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