Tea Bowl thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 143, The Timothy Sainsbury Gallery

Tea Bowl

ca. 1820-1830 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Raku Tannyu (1795-1854) was the tenth generation head of the Kyoto-based Raku family. A notable aspect of his career was his employment by the Kishu (Wakayama) branch of the Tokugawa family, who established the Kairakuen pottery in 1819. The base of bowl bears Tannyu's personal 'Raku' seal and a second seal, 'Karakuen sei', indicating that it was made at the Kairakuen pottery.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Hand-built Black Raku type high-fired earthenware with black glaze
Brief description
Tea bowl, Raku ware, Kyoto, by Raku Tannyu (1795-1854), about 1820-1830
Physical description
Tea bowl with slightly rounded base, regular-sized footring, and black glaze extending down to footring surround
Dimensions
  • Maximum diameter diameter: 11.1cm
  • Height: 8.3cm
  • Mouth diameter diameter: 10.0cm
  • Footring diameter diameter: 4.8cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
  • Raku (stamped on base)
    Translation
    Raku
  • Kairakuen sei (stamped on base)
    Translation
    Made at Kairakuen
Object history
Purchased from the Japanese Commissioners for the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, accessioned in 1877. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Association
Summary
Raku Tannyu (1795-1854) was the tenth generation head of the Kyoto-based Raku family. A notable aspect of his career was his employment by the Kishu (Wakayama) branch of the Tokugawa family, who established the Kairakuen pottery in 1819. The base of bowl bears Tannyu's personal 'Raku' seal and a second seal, 'Karakuen sei', indicating that it was made at the Kairakuen pottery.
Bibliographic reference
Augustus Wollaston Franks and M. Shioda, Japanese Pottery. [London]: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1880. South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks; 18. Catalogue number 87
Collection
Accession number
246-1877

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Record createdNovember 27, 2008
Record URL
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