Page 38 - Catalogue of the Edward Morse collection of Japanese pottery MFA BOSTON

z8 INTRODUCTION

Smoking
A few pottery utensils come in play for the use of the smoker. Jars
for tobacco and long, deep tubes, usually of bamboo, are also rarely made
of pottery. These are to knock the ashes in and to serve as a hand cus-
pidor. A pottery vessel filled with ashes to hold a live coal for the lighting
of pipes is handed to a visitor as one of the first acts of hospitality after the
customary salutation. The universal form of pipe consists of a metal bowl
and mouthpiece with bamboo stem. The collection contains an entire
pipe made of pottery. The Ethnological Museum at Hamburg has a pipe
in which the bowl and mouthpiece are made of porcelain.

Writing- Table
The love of poetry and verse which strongly characterizes the Japanese
lends an additional charm to the writing-table and the objects that are used
upon it. Many of these are made of pottery, and skill, ingenuity, and taste
are displayed in their making. The ink-stone, though usually of stone, is
sometimes seen in pottery ; an old roofing-tile may be utilized for that pur-
pose. The rest for brushes assumes a variety of shapes, as, for example,
three swans grouped together, or cocks of grain, or a row of children, or a
simple notched ridge. The vessel for water for the ink-stone is made in
the form of some household deity or mythological animal. A rest for the
stick of ink is made of pottery ; a little pottery screen is provided to stand
up in front of the ink-stone to catch any drops of ink that may be spattered
in rubbing. Pottery paper-weights are not uncommon : these may be in
the form of a tortoise, or a flat bar with moulded objects upon it. A special
holder is made for the red ink used in correcting manuscript. The collec-
tion contains a writing-box with partitions, stone and brush handles, etc., all
made of pottery. The bell to call the servant is sometimes of porcelain.

Artists Materials
The artist in mixing colors requires low, shallow plates, peculiarly shaped
objects for the holding and cleansing of brushes, and vessels for water, etc.
In drawing Chinese characters of large size, a quantity of ink is prepared,
and special vessels are used for this purpose.
Flowers

With the Japanese the love for flowers is a leading characteristic. A
great variety of objects is made for their display. Among these are stand-
ing flower - vases, rough, heavy, and massive, in which the flowers, by