The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

Water Jar

1960

Okabe Mineo

(Japanese, 1919–1990)
Japan, Shōwa period (1926–89)
glazed stoneware (Oribe style)
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.198.a
© Okabe Mineo
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Born in Seto, Aichi prefecture, Okabe was the son of influential potter Katō Tokurō (1897–1985).

Description

This water jar was made to hold the water used in tea gatherings. Okabe Mineo took his inspiration for the lidded vessel from the aesthetics of tea master Furuta Oribe (1544–1615), who initiated the color schemes and sometimes flamboyant designs that characterize the so-called Oribe style.
  • ?–2016
    (Joan B. Mirviss Ltd., New York, NY, sold to Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley)
    2016–2020
    Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2020–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Nihon Āto Sentā (日本アートセンター) ed., 陶愁－岡部嶺男作品集 [Tōshū: Okabe Mineo sakuhinshū = Ceramic Melancholy: Collected Works of Okabe Mineo]. Tokyo: Shōgakkan, 2007. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 52, pl. 61
    Maske, Andrew L. A Palette for Genius: Japanese Water Jars for the Tea Ceremony: Presented at Joan B. Mirviss Ltd., New York, Collaboration with Shibuya Kuradatoen Co., Ltd., March 10-April 15, 2016. New York: Joan B. Mirviss Ltd., 2016. Reproduced: front cover, back cover (detail), p. 9
    Rousmaniere, Nicole Coolidge. "Japanese Ceramics." In The Keithley Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art, edited by Heather Lemonedes Brown, 230–251. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2022. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 238–239; Mentioned: p. 269
  • To the River's South in Japanese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 15, 2023-June 2, 2024).
    Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).
  • {{cite web|title=Water Jar|url=false|author=Okabe Mineo|year=1960|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.198.a