Tea Bowl, Amamori Type

Handed down in the Matsura family, lords of Hirado, this Korean tea bowl is a large, thinly-thrown example in a basic bowl shape. The glaze is finely crackled overall and there is staining found in areas adjacent to the larger cracks. Use of the descriptive term "leaking rain" comes from this effect, which resembles stains left after a roof has leaked. Both the bowl's appearance and the term used to describe it aptly reflect the wabi (austere, mellow) aesthetic taste of the tea masters who loved these bowls. The off-white glaze covers the entire piece down to the footrim, which is carved large but low, in the rough shape of a bamboo node. On the interior of the footrim, the unglazed clay shows the "crepe" pattern created when the base was trimmed. The inner view of the bowl is wide, with a slight hollow in the bottom known as a chadamari, or "tea reservoir." Within the reservoir is a whirlpool-shaped throwing mark, around which are located four spur marks. On the front and back of the lid of the bowl's innermost box are gold lacquer characters said to be by the great tea master and domain lord Matsudaira Fumai.