茶碗 chawan (tea bowl)

茶碗 chawan (tea bowl) , 1700s, Edo period (1600–1868)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: gold lacquer repair; Karatsu ware

Dimensions:
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 10.16 x 10.16 cm
Object Height/Diameter (Height x Diameter): 4 x 4 in

Credit line: Gift from the Jedel Family Foundation

Accession number: 2006.0265

On display: Stewart Gallery

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Label texts

Collection Cards: Mindful

Look closely at this Japanese tea bowl. Notice the thin lines of gold that appear in some places, filling in the cracks. This is an example of the Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with a special glue dusted with gold. The gold makes the places where the cup was broken brighter and more noticable, and makes the cup stronger and more beautiful than it was before it broke. The golden cracks tell a story about the life of the cup. Can you think of a time when you became stronger because of something that happened to you? Write and illustrate a story about an event in your life that made you stronger. What are your “golden cracks”?

Salina Art Center: Shattering the Void: Realms of Meaning in East Asian Art

Tea is a shrub or small tree native to East Asia and its leaves have been enjoyed in an aromatic beverage for centuries in China, Korea, and Japan. Various tea vessels in this exhibition demonstrate the various ways tea has been consumed at different times across East Asia. The essence of the tea ceremony is sharing the bowl of tea. The bowl is generous in size and requires the use of both hands to securely hold and drink from it. Bowls for the warm seasons of the year have large mouths that allow the tea to cool quickly. The winter tea bowl is deeper and thicker-bodied to keep the drink warm.

Shattering the Void: Realms of Meaning in East Asian Art

Tea is native to East Asia and has been enjoyed as an aromatic beverage for centuries in China, Korea, and Japan. Three different tea vessels demonstrate the various ways in which tea has been consumed at different times across East Asia. Can you describe the differences of these three tea bowls?

Shattering the Void: Realms of Meaning in East Asian Art