Description
This type of wide-mouthed bowl was used every day in Korea, not exclusively for tea drinking. But when it was introduced to Japan around the early 16th century, its imperfect appearance evoking the aesthetics of wabi-sabi, caused it to be repurposed as a tea bowl. Korean tea bowls were circulated as a item of foreign luxury among Japanese military elites. It's highly possibly this type of bowl was produced in one of the kilns operated by the trading office Busan in Southern Gyeongsang province, and exported to Japan.
Provenance
Mary Pendell and Esther Berger, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?–1987); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1987–)
Accession Number
1987.1076
Medium
glazed ceramic
Dimensions
Overall: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.)
Classification
Ceramic
Credit Line
Gift of Mary Pendell and Esther Berger in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Irving Ludlow