18th Century Japanese Ceramic Ko-Satsuma Chaire Tea Caddy

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A ceramic tall chaire (Tea caddies) ko-satsuma type from Edo period Japan circa 18th century. This type of small jar … Read more A ceramic tall chaire (Tea caddies) ko-satsuma type from Edo period Japan circa 18th century. This type of small jar was made of stoneware. Its specific form with raised shoulder and a small opening was specifically designed to store green tea powder (matcha). Prototyped from the Chinese chaire, chaire was considered the most important piece of the accoutrement for chado (tea ceremony).
The chaire on offer here is slightly taller compared to most tea caddies. It features a heavily glazed surface with iron and ash dripping down from the shoulder to nearly cover the entire exterior. One exposed area reveals a brown glaze underneath with tight potter's ring. The dark iron dripping glaze is mottled with a slight metallic sheen and imbued with white splashes of color likely from rice-straw ashes. The chaire retain its old, likely original ivory lid that is lacquered gold underneath and also an old collecting paper label with Kanji writing "Old Satsuma Chaire One Piece".
A similar ko-satsuma Chaire can be found in the collection of Metropolitan Musuem of Art in NYC Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891. Object Number: 91.1.146 See less