JAR, Earthenware with three-color glaze /Important Cultural Property of Japan

Sancai (three-color) ware produced during the Nara period (710-794) under the influence of Tang sancai ware is called "Nara sancai ware", one of the best known wares being "Shoso-in sancai", named after the treasure house holding mostly 8th-century royal objects. This almost neck-less jar is known in Japan as yakko (literally meaning 'medicine jar'), some examples of which were used for containing cremated bones. White and yellow (or brown) glazes are dotted onto the green-glazed background, though parts of the glaze reveal exfoliation and silvery shine due to weathering. The jar is said to have been excavated in Icoma County, Nara Prefecture during the Ansei era (1854-59) of the Edo period and was formerly in the possession of the Hirase family of Osaka.