TISHU Jars

A striking ceramic moon jar made by American studio potter Otto Heino (1915-2009) in the late year of his life in his studio in Ojai, California, 2003. Nearly perfectly sphere in shape with small base and mouth, the form was celebrated in Korean Joseon pottery...

A tall ceramic vase made by American studio potter Otto Heino (1915-2009) in the late year of his life in his studio in Ojai, California, 1999. Wheel thrown with intentional concentr...

A ceramic vase in the spindle form made by American studio potter Otto Heino (1915-2009) in the late year of his life in his studio in Ojai, California, 2002. Wheel thrown with inten...

A ceramic vessel in the form of a "moon jar" with a near sphere shape on a small base with a small mouth opening. The form was celebrated in Korean Joseon pottery...

A large ceramic vessel in the form of a "moon jar" with a near sphere shape on a small base with a short neck and diminished mouth opening. The form was celebrated in Korean Joseon pottery...

A Japanese lidded ceramic jar from the kiln of Onda Yaki, circa 2007. The stoneware jar impresses the viewer with a robust bulbous form. and exuberantly splashed and dripped glaze in...

A Japanese glazed ceramic jar with a lacquered wood lid circa 19th century of late Edo to early Meiji Period. The stoneware tsubo was used as a storage vessel for produce such as tea...

A glazed stoneware jar with lid by American Ceramist Robert Chapman Turner (1913-2005) entitled "Ashanti". The vessel was made in 1979 and was in...

A massive and magnificent ceramic Tsubo jar by Japanese potter Tsujimura Yui (1975-). Inspired by the techniques and aesthetics of the early medieval Sue ware, the artist hand builds an impressive voluminous oviform, irregular by intention, from a combination clay from both Shigaraki and Iga, coarse by nature and rich in feldspar. Fired on their sides horizontally, the surface of the thick wall tsubo is covered with streaks and drips of natural ash glazes in shades of green and blue, forming an abstract and mesmerizing pattern that resembles geothermal earth activity. Additional ashes are blown during the firing to accentuate the textures. Most recognizably, there are many circular marks scattered on the surface of his archaic looking vessels. That is resulted from using stacked tea bowls to prevent the conjoining of the vessels. After the firing, the stacked vessels are chipped away, leaving behind those circular impression, as well as deep pools of glaze which gather where they were placed. Born in 1975, Tsujimura Yui is the first son of the contemporary ceramic artist Tsujimura Shiro...

A massive stoneware tsubo floor jar created by Japanese contemporary ceramic artist Kai Tsujimura (1976-). The heavy jar with its impressive volume was made in the tradition of Iga ware with local coarse sandy clay that turned reddish after the firing. It took its shape from heavy medieval storage jars with a wide-open mouth. For a nearly identical form, see an Echizen jar from Heian period (794–1185) in the collection of MET (Accession Number: 1977.261). The surface showcases scattered white crystalized feldspars and a green vitrified ash glaze cascade down the body (known as biidoro in Japanese - after the Portuguese word for glass vidoro). These is a globular shape impressed on the jar. It is a signature practice of the Tsujimura potter family by stacking bowls between the pieces in the kiln during the firing, resulting in an accidental but iconic aethetic (Kai and Yui Tsujimura...

On offer is a large Korean ceramic storage jar (hangari) with white glaze and iron red underglaze dragon design. The globular shaped jar derived its form from the Moon Jar of the ear...

A large Japanese lidded ceramic jar from the kiln of Onda Yaki, circa 2010. The stoneware jar impresses the viewer with a robust bulbous form. Its black body is nearly unglazed but exuberantly splashed with strokes of slip glazes of white, yellow and blue. The visual effect is wonderful that it appears traditional and contemporary at the same time. The tri-color glaze calls to mind the San-Cai from Chinese Tang dynasty, yet the application is akin to abstract painting on canvas. Onda Yaki also spelled as Onta Yaki also spelled Onta, is a type of Japanese pottery produced in and around the village of Onta in Oita Prefecture in Kyushu Island. It was founded in 1705. Closely associated with Mingei folk art, Onda ware was inscribed by the national government in 1995 as an Intangible Cultural Property Background from Pucker Gallery where the jar was exibited and purchased. "In his search for true folk pottery, the Japanese philosopher Soetsu Yanagi...

An impressive Shigaraki Tsubo (jar normally for storage) in an archaic form with a bulbous and robust body that opens with a small lipped mouth. Heavil...

A small ceramic celadon storage jar circa 18th century of Korean Joseon Dynasty. The melon shape jar with a mouth and base of the same size display a beautiful harmony in its form. T...

A Korean ceramic storage jar circa 18th century of Joseon Dynasty. The jar is of a classic Maebyong form (known in Chinese as Plum Vase or Meiping...

A Korean ceramic storage jar circa 18th century of Joseon Dynasty. The jar is of a characteristic form with a bulbous upper body that tappers with a gra...

A glazed stoneware jar with lid by American Ceramist Robert Chapman Turner (1913-2005) entitled "Ashanti". The vessel was made in 1974, purchased in 1978 and held in the same collection since. It was published in the artist's monograph as shown below. One of the classic forms with variations in Turner's repertoire since 1970s, the jar feature a slightly irregular form with numerous surface patching and markings under an overall black glaze with blue tint. The dome-shape lid has a cross-shaped handle with small markings. The form was inspired by Ashanti culture he observed during his trips to Africa. Incised signature "Turner" on the base. "In 1971–72, drawn by the power of African sculpture, and wishing to imbue his work with a greater sense of universality, Robert Turner traveled to Nigeria and Ghana. The trip proved transformational. In West Africa he was deeply moved by the way in which art was ingrained in daily experience, and by the beauty of traditional forms of architecture, pottery, ceremonial objects, and decoration. After his return, Turner began to produce series of distinctive vessel types named after African kingdoms and peoples—Ashanti, Ife, Oshogbo, Akan. The first is a squat, lidded pot; the others are cone and cylinder shapes." Smithsonian American Art Museum Robert Turner's work is in numerous museum collections including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City. For this piece, see page 33 in "Robert Turner Shaping Silence A Life in Clay" by Marsha Miro and Tony Hepburn.

An antique Japanese stoneware storage jar, known as tsubo from Shigaraki kiln, circa 17th-18th century (early Edo possibly Momoyama period)....

A stoneware pottery jar used for storage, made in southern China Fujian or Guangdong province since Song Dynasty for domestic use as well as export. They were widely exported to Japa...

A large stoneware jar by Paul Chaleff (1947-) made in 1987 and was purchased directly from the artist's studio in New York. Wood fired ceramic vessel with h...

A pinkish stoneware jar with broad shoulder and slightly tapered body from Chinese East Zhou Dynasty (771-256BC). The surface of the jar was nearly thorou...

A rare porcelain vase by Makuzu Kozan (1842-1916) circa 1870-81 (late Meiji period). The vase is dated to the earlier work from Kozan's studio during his early period (Takauki-ware p...

A ceramic vase in the form of a "moon jar", a nearly sphere shape with small base and mouth. The form was celebrated in Korean Joseon pottery and its fo...

A Shigaraki stoneware jar by Japanese potter Shino Kanzaki (1942-2018). Kanzaki is a world renowned potter in Shigaraki who based his modern work on the ancient tradition of Shigaraki and Iga ware...

A Japanese storage jar (tsubo) made in the ancient Echizen ware tradition by Fujita Jurouemon VIII. Echizen is one of the six ancient kilns in Japan, directly influenced by the Sue ware...

A ceramic (earth ware) lidded jar with glazed surface by American studio potter Karen Karnes (1925-2016). The mark on the jar indicates that the piece was m...

A stoneware jar of bulbous form with a long neck supported by open-work foot dated from Silla, Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE-668 AD). The grey color ves...

A stoneware vase by Paul Chaleff (1947-) made in 1984. Chaleff is known for his wood fired ceramic vessel without glaze or sometimes natural ash glaze. The vase on offer is of a highly geometrical form with handcut multifaceted lower body that rises and morphs into a rounded upper body with two hand-molded ears above the shoulder. The surface shows nice firing color variations due to the iron oxidation in the kiln and also carved lines left intentionally by the artist. It is marked with the artist's incised signature and date 84. This piece has a very strong Japanese wabi-sabi appeal which is the aesthetic influence of the artist's work and makes a visually arresting center piece for any interior. "Paul Chaleff is known for his large-scale wood fired ceramic sculptures and vessels. He also created a large body of wheel thrown functional vessels. His vessels are strongly influenced by Japanese pottery, especially the work of one of Japan’s National Living Treasures, Takeshi Nakazato. Chaleff was one of the first American potters using a Japanese style Anagama kiln and became a leader in the introduction of this form of wood-burning kiln. In 1989, he began a regular collaboration with the British sculptor Sir Anthony Caro. Over a period of thirteen years, they created nearly 50 works, both figurative and abstract. Caro’s sculpture has had direct influence on Chaleff’s work as has the sculpture of Isamu Noguchi, and the ceramics of John Mason...

A ceramic stirrup vessel pot from late Moche culture circa 500-700AD in nowadays Northern Coast of Peru. The hollow vessel features a rounded body and...