Storage jar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Beginning in the late Heian period, the Echizen kilns in central Japan produced sankinko jars and small bottles. This jar may have fallen over during firing, acquiring a blanket of uneven natural ash glaze, large cracks, and encrustations picked up from neighboring pots. Although it was probably never used, to the contemporary viewer it is an example of the simple beauty of random effects produced by a wood-fired kiln.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art