Tenmoku Tea Bowl
Kimura Moriyasu, Tenmoku Tea Bowl, 1990/2002, stoneware with tenmoku "oil spot" glaze, Museum Purchase: Margery Hoffman Smith Fund, © unknown, research required, 2002.3
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- Title
Tenmoku Tea Bowl
- Related Titles
original language: 油滴天目茶盌
- Artist
- Date
1990/2002
- Medium
stoneware with tenmoku "oil spot" glaze
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
3 1/2 in x 4 7/8 in diam.
- Inscriptions & Markings
seal: 盛康, stamped in red ink; relief seal, inside of box lid Transliteration (Translation): Moriyasu (Moriyasu) Language: Japanese
inscription: 盛康作, brushed in black ink, box lid, interior Transliteration (Translation): Moriyasu saku (Made by Moriyasu) Language: Japanese
inscription: 油滴天目茶盌, brushed in black ink, outside of box lid Transliteration (Translation): Yuteki tenmoku chawan (Oil drop tenmoku teabowl) Language: Japanese
seal: 盛康, impressed seal, on foot Transliteration (Translation): Moriyasu (Moriyasu) Language: Japanese
- Collection Area
Asian Art
- Category
Ceramics
Modern and Contemporary Ceramics
- Object Type
tea bowl
- Culture
Japanese
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Margery Hoffman Smith Fund
- Accession Number
2002.3
- Copyright
© unknown, research required
- Terms
Kimura Moriyasu was born into a family of Kyoto potters. While his father specialized in painting colorful designs on porcelain, Moriyasu has devoted his life to mastering tenmoku, a mottled iron-brown glaze that first appeared on Chinese tea bowls during the eleventh century. Tenmoku is cherished in both China and Japan as the ideal glaze to complement matcha, the frothy pale green color of whipped, powdered tea.
Kimura's admitted obsession is "oil spot" tenmoku, in which iron in the glaze forms surface crystals, creating a dot pattern. It is extremely difficult to control, as the results depend on subtle interactions between clay, glaze, and firing conditions in the kiln.
- Exhibitions
2014 Hand and Wheel: Contemporary Japanese Clay Portland Art Museum