Shigaraki ware storage jar (Indianapolis Museum of Art)

Japanese storage jar

Shigaraki ware storage jar

Year	ca. 1550
Type	stoneware
Dimensions	45.1 cm (17.75 in); 39.69 cm diameter (15.625 in)
Location	Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis

The shigaraki ware storage jar is part of the Japanese collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana. Created in about 1550, during the Muromachi period, it was at some point broken, which would severely limit its utility. However, it was carefully preserved through the centuries as an art object.^[1]

History

Such jars from Shigaraki were originally created for grain storage. However, their rough simplicity captured the attention of Zen practitioners, and they began to use them as water jars during the Japanese tea ceremony beginning in the sixteenth century. Their very imperfections, such as asymmetry and uneven coloration, made them all the more suitable as representations of the artless perfection sought for the meditative ritual.^[2]

The jar was purchased in 1981 with the help of the Martha Delzell Memorial Fund. It currently is on display in the Valeria J. Medveckis Gallery and has the accession number 81.378.^[3] Shigaraki ware jars of similar size and age have recently sold for between $10,000 and $50,000.^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

Description

The clay used to create this jar was mixed with stone fragments and pebbles, resulting in an uneven surface that resembles the natural variations of granite. It was formed by quickly patting down clay coils, for a rough, asymmetrical profile. The glaze was made when ashes from the wood burning in the kiln landed on the vessel and liquified, their varying amounts of iron resulting in the different colors.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Lee, Ellen Wardwell; Robinson, Anne (2005). Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art. ISBN 0936260777.
^ Day, Holliday T. (1988). Indianapolis Museum of Art Collections Handbook. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art. ISBN 0936260203.
^ "Storage jar". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
^ "A Shigaraki Jar". Christie's. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
^ "A Large Stoneware Jar". Christie's. 24 March 2003. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
^ "A Large Stoneware Jar". Christie's. 16 September 2003. Retrieved 16 March 2013.

External links

IMA page.

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Newfields)

Significant
artworks at the
Indianapolis
Museum of Art

African art	Face mask Senufo female ancestor figure Magbo helmet mask for Oro society Palace plaque depicting warrior Guardian figure Healing of Abiku Children
American painting and sculpture to 1945	Afternoon Tea Cliff Rock - Appledore Dorothy Hotel Lobby Hurricane Jimson Weed Morning at Grand Manan Preparing for the Matinee Red Kimono on the Roof Reflections Sunlight The Boat Builders The Flight of Europa The Love Song The Rainbow Tidying Up U.S.A. Untitled (The Birth)
Asian art	Bowl with two violet spots Cong-shaped vase Covered jar with carp design Fine Wind, Clear Morning Ksitigarbha bodhisattva Ritual wine server Shigaraki ware storage jar Vase with carved peony scrolls Vase with nine peach design
Contemporary art	Acton Courre Merlan Egyptian Barnyard LOVE painting LOVE (sculpture) The Quintet of the Silent They Waz Nice White Folks While They Lasted (Sez One Gal to Another) Untitled Landfield Untitled Judd Untitled Irwin
Decorative arts	Angel of the Resurrection Coffee service High chest of drawers Portland Vase Side chair
European painting and sculpture to 1945	Aristotle Battle Between Carnival and Lent Breton Women at a Wall Broek in Waterland Charing Cross Bridge Crucifix Crucifixion Enclosed Field with Peasant Entry of Christ into Jerusalem Entry of Christ into Jerusalem House in Provence Landscape near Arles Ma Jolie Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalene Man and Woman Peasant with a Wheelbarrow Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well Roman Capriccio: The Pantheon and Other Monuments Saint Luke Self-Portrait Rembrandt Still Life with a Chinese Porcelain Jar Still Life with Profile of Laval The Banks of the Oise near Pontoise The Boy The Channel of Gravelines, Petit Fort Philippe The Country Dance The Crucifixion Cranach The Fifth Plague of Egypt The Flageolet Player on the Cliff The Flight into Egypt The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist The House of the Deaf Woman and the Belfry at Eragny The Negress The Seamstress The Triumphant Entry of Constantine into Rome The Two Sisters The Valkhof at Nijmegen Triptych of the Annunciation Vorhor, the Green Wave
Art of the Americas	Haida ceremonial dance rattle
Oceanic art	Helmet mask (Tatanua)
Prints, drawings, and photographs	Blasting St. Vincent's Rock, Clifton Boreas and Oreithyia Galinthias Outwits Eileithyia by Announcing the Birth of Heracles Mother (Mutter) Moulin Rouge: La Goulue The Holy Family with the Dragonfly Young Woman in Blue
Textile and fashion arts	Moroccan wall hanging Chinese Souls #2 Eli Lilly Family Quilt Evening dress Woman's apron Sumbanese woman's ceremonial skirt

Outdoor
artworks
by location

Museum grounds	Above and Below Five Brushstrokes La Hermana del Hombre Bóveda Memories of Prague Mother and Child Numbers 1-0 Snowplow Stumbling Man Sutphin Fountain Two Figures Two Lines Oblique Down, Variation III
Oldfields	Copy of Diana of Versailles Diana with Dog Female and Male Herm Fountain Four Seasons Landon-Era Birdbath Mother and Child (Gordine) Nymph and Fawn Sundial, Boy With Spider The Three Graces Pair of Urns
100 Acres	Bench Around the Lake Eden II Free Basket Funky Bones Indianapolis Island Park of the Laments Stratum Pier Team Building (Align)
Artworks on loan	East Gate/West Gate Mega-Gem Portrait of History Sewall Memorial Torches Spaces with Iron