The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Tea Storage Jar

mid- to late 1600s

Nonomura Ninsei

(Japanese, active 1640s–90s)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Stoneware with white glaze (Shigaraki style)
height: 28.3 cm (11 1/8 in.); Diameter: 28.7 cm (11 5/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1978.6
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This jar may be considered an example of the aesthetic known as kireisabi, or refined rusticity.

Description

In this tea storage jar, Nonomura Ninsei reinterpreted a Shigaraki stoneware—made to hold agricultural products and known for its warm orange color, asymmetrical round forms, and irregular natural ash glazes—to produce a more refined piece that would appeal to tea masters seeking a touch of rusticity. In Japanese tea culture, hanging scroll paintings or calligraphy are placed in the tokonoma, or viewing alcove, for participants to admire and discuss along with the utensils used in the gathering. The scrolls are typically paired with vessels containing seasonal floral arrangements.
  • paper on underside of box lid: A tea container by Ninsei alleged to come from the Meada family of Toyama.
    ?–1978
    (Fugendo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1978–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Zauhō Kankōkai 座右寶刋行會. Sekai tōji zenshū [世界陶磁全集 = Ceramic Art of the World]. Vol. 6, Edo hen [江戶篇 = Edo Period]. Edited by Tadamari Mitsuoka. Tōkyō: Kawade Shobō Shinsha, 1955. Reproduced: p. 125, pl. 120
    Yamane, Yūzō 山根有三, Shūjirō Shimada 島田修二郎, and Terukazu Akiyama 秋山光和. Zaigai Nihon no shihō 在外日本の至宝. Tōkyō: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1979. Mentioned and Reproduced; no. 75, p. 140, plate 75
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1978.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 66, no. 1, 1979, pp. 3–47. Reproduced: cat. no. 146, p. 40 www.jstor.org
    Cort, Louise Allison. Shigaraki, Potters' Valley. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1979. Reproduced: fig. 176, p. 157
    Lee, Sherman E., Michael R. Cunningham, and Ursula Korneitchouk. One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650): From the Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue. New York: Japan Society, 1981. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 44
    Neils, Jenifer. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. Reproduced: cat. no. 149
    Yamane, Yūzō 山根有三, Takashi Hamada 山根有三, et al. Zaigai bijutsu [在外美術 = Selections of Japanese Art from Western Collections]. Tōkyō: Shōgakukan, 1994. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 219; p. 237, no. 129
    Maezaki, Shinya and Sinéad Vilbar. Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 52, fig. 27
  • Rinpa (琳派). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23-October 3, 2021).
    Early Rinpa (Japanese gallery rotation) 235. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 23, 2020-January 17, 2021).
    Reeds and Geese: Japanese Art from the Collection of George Gund III. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 21-September 3, 2017).
    Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
    The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 30-September 5, 1982).
    One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650) from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Japan House Gallery, New York, NY (March 19-May 17, 1981).
    Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979).
    Ishikawa Prefectural Museum, #58, 19?
  • {{cite web|title=Tea Storage Jar|url=false|author=Nonomura Ninsei|year=mid- to late 1600s|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1978.6