Height: 33.000 cm
Collected by William
Bequeathed by Sir A.W. Franks
Asia JA F2227
Sue ware jar
Kofun period, 6th century AD
High-fired pottery with ash glaze
This is an example of a traditional Sue ware tomb jar, with a pierced base like a ceremonial stand and 'bobbles' like small bowls attached to the neck. In addition, models of animals and a boat with four oarsman and a helmsman have been fused to the sides. (It is interesting to note that actual boats of this type from the Middle Jōmon period have been excavated).
The form of the rim suggests that the jar originally had a lid. The body is also decorated with some scratched comb marks and there are accidental ash glaze effects. By the thirteenth century, unglazed and naturally ash-glazed stonewares became the established mainstay of the Japanese ceramic industry in places such as Bizen Province.
L. Smith, V. Harris and T. Clark, Japanese art: masterpieces in (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)