Water Jar (Mizusashi) with Pine Trees

Water Jar (Mizusashi) with Pine Trees

Ogata Kenzan

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This mizusashi is a container that would have been used in the tea ceremony to hold freshwater to rinse the tea bowls or fill the kettle. The potter coated the dark clay ground of this jar in a white slip, providing a light background for painting. The trunks of the stylized pine trees were painted in almost calligraphic strokes, while the leafy tops seem almost like puffs of clouds. The style is that of Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743), though this jar was probably produced by one of his followers. Kenzan was an amateur painter and potter active in the Edo period, and was known for his painterly, decorative wares.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Water Jar (Mizusashi) with Pine TreesWater Jar (Mizusashi) with Pine TreesWater Jar (Mizusashi) with Pine TreesWater Jar (Mizusashi) with Pine TreesWater Jar (Mizusashi) with Pine Trees

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.