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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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Details
Title

Tenmoku Tea Bowl

Related Titles

original language: 油滴天目茶盌

Artist

Kimura Moriyasu (Japanese, born 1935)

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

ceramics

stoneware

tea bowls

Description

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.

History
Exhibitions

2014 Hand and Wheel: Contemporary Japanese Clay Portland Art Museum

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