Mizutsugi (Ewer)

ca. 1980

Japanese pottery has always been closely associated with the tea ceremony. From ancient times the great Japanese tea masters used ceramic utensils to reflect their own ideas and style. One example is Oribe ware, named for the tea master Furuta Oribe (1544–1615). Oribe ceramics are distinguished by warped forms and bold pictorial patterns—a departure from earlier symmetrical designs. The Oribe tradition continues to the present, as indicated by the work of Takiguchi Kiheiji shown here.