Page 300 - Catalogue of the Edward Morse collection of Japanese pottery MFA BOSTON

THE CATALOGUE
196
2726. Food-bowl. D. 5 in. Light gray clay, white glaze. Under decoration in light blue.
Shochi and Fuke set (imp.). 1830
2727. Tea-bowl. D. 3I in. Light gray clay, clear white glaze
with splash of light blue mottled glaze. Hachi (imp.). 1830
All the above marks are very rare.

SOBOKAI (Case 23) Q i
Pottery signed Sobokai was first baked on the
castle grounds of Nagoya. The first work, con-
^^^'' ^7^6
sisting of tea-jars and the like, was made by a
potter from Seto in 1630. (The tea-jar catalogued under 2265 was made in Seto from
Sobokai clay, and does not belong to this oven.) In 1780 or thereabouts a large
stamp with the characters Sobokai, roughly cut in a depressed square, was used. A
1800. A
smaller mark in oval came into use in little later a still smaller mark,
similar to the last, was used for incense-boxes and the like, though it was occasionally
found on large pieces. The incised mark is extremely rare, and where evidence of
age is shovra may indicate the first signed Sobokai. The pieces of Sobokai are all
designed for the tea-ceremony, are in refined taste, and follow Seto style, except
the incense-boxes, which copy NinseL Within recent years fraudulent essays have
appeared in the form of large tea-jars, which seem raw and crude when compared with
the genuine work, and these are signed with the old marks, or counterfeits of them.
2728. Jar. H. 6| in. Light gray-drab clay, rich chestnut-brown glaze, clouded. 1650
Sobokai (inc.).
2729. Flower-vask H. 10 in. Round body in middle, square above
and below, slightly flaring. Light gray clay, thin light green underglaze,
thick light bluish overglaze running. Flowers and scrolls in high relief,
moulded and applied. Sobokai (^xa^^. 1780
2730. Incense-box (bird). L. if in. Gray-drab clay, thick light gray
glaze. Feathers and eyes in grayish - black. Sobokai (small mark, imp.).
2731. Tea-jar. Same mark.
2732. Water-jar. H. 5^ in. Gray-drab clay, brown underglaze, dark brown overglaze
running, mottled with fawn. Same mark. 1800
2733. Tea-bowl. D. 3I in. Gray-drab clay, dull thick black glaze with interspaces of
dull light gray glaze. Formal blossoms in white and black. Same mark. 1800
2734. Shallow tea-bowl. D. 5 in. Thick and irregular. Same mark. 1800
Tit
2735. Tea-jar, two loops. H. 2^ in. Light gray-drab clay, light fawn glaze
with deepest brown overglaze. Vertical and cross-lines in bands incised
on upper part. Sobokai (inc.) across bottom and side. 1800
2736. Jar, four looped handles on shoulder. H. 6^ in. Light clay,
dull brown underglaze, rich lustrous brown overglaze, mottled with
deepest brown. Sobokai, large mark (imp.). 1800 2735
A superb example.
2737*. Tea-jar. H.4|in. Light gray-drab clay, deep seal-brown glaze. Sobokai i^ra.^:). 1840