Rusticity Refined: Kyoto Ceramics by Ninsei

During the 1600s, Japanese tastes in ceramics shifted away from the large-scaled, thick-walled sculptural works of the Momoyama period (1568-1615) toward a more elegant and refined form of porcelain. This small exhibition of 13 objects—12 ceramics and 1 scroll —compares 5 objects by the famed Kyoto potter Nonomura Ninsei (active circa 1646-1677) that embody the new asethetic form of porcelains with prototypes of the Momoyama period produced 40-50 years before he opened his Omuro pottery workshop in Kyoto. Works on view include: a rustic Takatori ware vase, a Satsuma ware tea caddy, a 17th-century cylindrical vase in the shape of a "traveling pillow," an Agano ware tea bowl, and 2 lustrous black tea bowls. Ceramics by Ninsei include: tea-ceremony jar, a rounded tea-leaf storage jar, and 2 tea-ceremony rinse-water bowls.