Covered Jar
Item
Title
Covered Jar
Creator
Unknown artist
Japanese, 20th century
Japanese, 20th century
Date
1967
Materials
Naeshirogawa stoneware
Measurements
Height: 3-3/4 in. (9.6 cm), diameter: 3-3/16 in. (8.2 cm)
Description
Ceramics were integral to the alliances forged between Japan and America through the exchange of art. They symbolized the ideal of a tranquil and natural Japan propagated in the essay In Praise of Shadows by the renowned Japanese writer Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. Originally published in 1933, Tanizaki’s text was translated in the Atlantic Monthlymagazine in 1955 and helped condition the American understanding of Japanese aesthetics. Tanizaki related darkness to the spirituality and mystery of Japanese culture. He writes, "No words can describe that sensation as one sits in the dim light, basking in the faint glow reflected from the shoji, lost in meditation or gazing out at the garden." This ideal carries over into the rich, dark glaze and natural brown hue of the clay that is found in Naeshirogawa, where these pots were made.
Source
Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University.
Identifier
86.352
Rights
This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted.