Large Jar

Accession Number
2010/1.213

Title
Large Jar

Artist(s)
Kōyama Kiyoko

Object Creation Date
circa 2000

Medium & Support
stoneware with natural ash glaze

Dimensions
14 9/16 in x 13 3/4 in x 13 3/4 in (36.99 cm x 34.92 cm x 34.92 cm);x 41 5/16 in x 104.93 cm

Credit Line
Gift of the artist

Label copy
One of the leading contemporary potters in the Shigaraki ware tradition, Kôyama Kiyoko’s life and career is an eloquent testimony to what female potters have struggled for and accomplished in Japan. Kôyama, like many other women, started as a painter who drew designs on pottery. Despite a lack of support and financial difficulties caused by her divorce from her potter husband, she was determined to recreate a historic translucent green-white glaze using unpredictable natural ash glazes. The shape of this jar is reminiscent of a historic Shigaraki ware storage jar, an example of which may be seen in this gallery. Originally everyday wares for local farmers, these jars became prized items among tea ceremony practitioners in the Momoyama (1583–1615) to early Edo (1615–1650) periods. Kôyama’s use of green-white natural ash glaze on this classic form creates a modern and expressive surface.
Gallery Rotation, Spring 2011
Gallery Rotation Spring/Summer 2011
Kôyama Kiyoko
Japan, born 1936
Large jar
circa 2000
Heisei Period (1989–present)
Stoneware with natural ash glaze
Gift of the artist, 2010/1.213
One of the leading contemporary potters in the Shigaraki ware tradition, Kôyama Kiyoko’s life and career is an eloquent testimony to what female potters have struggled for and accomplished in Japan. Kôyama, like many other women, started as a painter who drew designs on pottery. Despite a lack of support and financial difficulties caused by her divorce from her potter husband, she was determined to recreate a historic translucent green-white glaze using unpredictable natural ash glazes. The shape of this jar is reminiscent of a historic Shigaraki ware storage jar, an example of which may be seen in this gallery. Originally everyday wares for local farmers, these jars became prized items among tea ceremony practitioners in the Momoyama (1583–1615) to early Edo (1615–1650) periods. Kôyama’s use of green-white natural ash glaze on this classic form creates a modern and expressive surface.

Subject matter
This is a vase. The artist, Koyama Kyoko, struggled as a female potter in a trade dominated by male artists. She received recognition when she discovered a way to revive the forgotten techinique of natural ash glazes, which are commonly used in her work.

Physical Description
This large jar is wider in the top portion, narrowing towards the base. It has a short neck that flares outwards. The natural glaze creates a range of browns and grays.

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
jar

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
Shigaraki (ceramics style)
ceramic ware (visual works)
ceramics (object genre)
pottery (visual works)
stoneware (pottery)
vases

& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved

On display

UMMA Gallery Location ➜ FFW, 2nd floor ➜ 216 (Japanese Gallery)