Antique Japanese Water Dropper

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The object is a water dropper made of iron. It was an object found on a scholar's table, and its … Read more The object is a water dropper made of iron. It was an object found on a scholar's table, and its function is defined by its name - it provides water, one drop at a time for the scholar to prepare ink or colors. Its origin is Japan and the material is iron. It has a naturalistic form - a pumkin with its stem as a knob and its segmented body, le the gourd. Photos are deceptive, it is a miniature, no more than 3 inches wide. The photos do not do it justice because it does not pick up the fine details. It is stamped with the maker's 3 character mark in Kanji.

Water droppers were highly valued by the Literati, scholars or men of letters in Japan and China. Poetry, calligraphy, painting and playing the qin are the four practices that reveal their cultivation and their expression in the arts. Literati expressions were important in the Edo Period (CE 1603 - 1868.) Individual artists, whether in Nanga painting or woodblock printing, especially in the Ukiyo or Floating World style were able to express their own style. They would be the ones using water droppers in their art. See less