Black Raku Tea Bowl

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Raku ware is a type of ceramic highly esteemed in the Japanese tea ceremony. It is a lightweight glazed earthenware molded by hand rather than thrown on a potter's wheel. The clay is rough and unpretentious, covered in an opaque glaze, as we see here. Raku ware could be fired in small, indoor kilns, which contributed to its popularity in the city of Kyoto, a major tea center. It is traditionally associated with the Raku family of potters, which traces its lineage back to the time of the famous tea master Sen no Rikyū, and which is still producing Raku ware today. This tea bowl is tentatively attributed to the sixteenth-century tile maker who is believed to be the founder of Raku ware, known as Chojirō. According to legend, Chojirō's production of tea bowls was stimulated and supervised by Rikyū himself.

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