Covered Jar

Item

Title

Covered Jar

Creator

Unknown artist
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.

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