A CARVED LONGQUAN BASKET-SHAPED WATER CONTAINER, MIZUSASHI

MING DYNASTY, EARLY 15TH CENTURY

HEIGHT (INCLUDING HANDLE): 19CM

The water container is robustly potted with a cylindrical body supported on a tapered foot, the mouth rim is set with an upright curved handle. The exterior of the body is liberally carved with undulating leafy scrolls of peony. The surface is covered in a translucent sage-green glaze suffused with faint crackles, save for the unglazed base fired to an orange tone.

Water containers in the shape of a handled bucket were classic utensils in Japanese tea ceremonies, where they were used to hold clean fresh water. These containers often come with slight variations in form and decoration, possibly to tailor the broad Japanese market. A Ming-dynasty Longquan incense burner with comparable liberally rendered designs and green glaze was included in A Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties , National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1994, cat. no. 20.

PROVENANCE
A Japanese Private Collection