1. Chawan: A tenmoku-style tea bowl with a dark iron-rich hare’s-fur glaze.

Listing Description

CHW-673 has a wide, open tenmoku form and a dark iron-rich glaze that draws into fine streaks toward the interior well. Warm amber-brown at the rim contrasts with the black center and the darker exterior. The glaze effect recalls hare’s-fur Jian ware; the bowl’s kiln, date, and maker remain unconfirmed.

An associated wooden box is inscribed with a tenmoku bowl title and a notation that appears to read 坂本五郎旧蔵 (formerly in the collection of Sakamoto Gorō). The two bowls and their boxes were shipped as separate wrapped packages; the auction photograph shows a pairing, but the match of this particular box to CHW-672 has not been independently verified. The inscription is reported as a feature of the associated box, not established provenance for this bowl.

Item Details

Underside and Mark

A pale, granular coating covers much of the underside and foot and locally overlaps the dark glaze. Some material on the glaze can be lifted with a fingernail. Its composition, date, and purpose are unknown. The foot bears an apparent impressed mark, partly obscured by the coating; it has not been securely read. No maker attribution follows from the mark at present.

Condition

No chip or crack is apparent in the available photographs. The underside bears the applied or deposited pale material described above, with small areas of loss where it overlaps the glaze. This is a disclosed condition feature; it is not identified as a fired glaze or a repair. Inspect the bowl in hand before publication and avoid removing further material from the foot.

What Is Included

One chawan and the associated photographed wooden box, subject to confirmation of their pairing.