Chaire: Masterworks of the Japanese Tea-Caddy Tradition

Edo Period Chaire Tea caddy Takatori Yaki (1603-1868)

• Object Number: #JCC560

  Edo Period Takatori “Nejikan”, “twisted-rib”Chaire Tea caddy.

  Place of Origin: Japan 

• Artist: Unknown 

• Period: Edo Period 

• Date: 17th-18th Century 

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Takatori Yaki. Takatori kiln, Chikuzen (present-day Fukuoka Prefecture)

• Dimensions: H:9.6 cm D:5.9 cm 

• Department: Japanese 

• Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics. 

• Note: With the Antique wooden box Tomobako and Shifuku. Old wooden tomobako with long cursive inscription on the inside of the lid and an outer label reading that the piece was “once in the possession of Ko-ori (古織所持). The inner lid bears a long appraisal inscription in highly cursive script by an unidentified tea practitioner or appraiser, describing the chaire and its tradition.

Edo Period Seto ware Tea caddy of Taikai type Chaire (1603-1868)

• Object Number: #JCC572

• Title: Taikai Form Tea Caddy with Amber and Iron-Drip Glaze type.

• Place of Origin: Japan 

• Artist: Unknown 

• Period: Edo Period 

• Date: 18th-19th Century 

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Takatori Ware

• Origin: Chikuzen Province

• Dimensions: H:6.5 cm D:9.6 cm 

• Department: Japanese 

• Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics. 

• Note: With the wooden box Tomobako and Shifuku.

• The Chaire is dressed in a lustrous amber glaze (ameyu) with an iron-oxide overglaze (teppanyu) creating organic drips (nadare) from the shoulder. The form features a classic incised "girdle" line, typical of Taikai architecture. The unglazed base displays the dark, fine-grained clay of the Chikuzen kilns and a sharp ito-giri (thread-cut) mark.

Ōmi style chaire Tea Caddy 

• Object Number: #JCC565

• Title: Ōmi style chaire Tea Caddy 

• Place of Origin: Japan 

• Artist: Unknown 

• Period: Edo to Early Meji Period.

• Date: 19th Century. 

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Seto/ Mino Stoneware with glossy iron-rich glaze; organic lid bone/ivory

• Dimensions: H 5.3 cm; D: 8.5 cm

• Department: Japanese 

• Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics. 

• Note: An Ōmi-type chaire of late Edo–Meiji date, formed from fine Seto–Mino clay and finished with a lustrous iron glaze. The piece retains its original organic lid and brocade shifuku, indicative of long tea-ceremony use. The accompanying tomobako provides a descriptive identification rather than an attributed appraisal.

Edo Period Chaire Seto yaki Tea Caddy 江戸時代 古瀬戸茶入 (1603-1868)

• Object Number: #JCC573

• Title: Edo Period Chaire Seto yaki Tea Caddy 江戸時代 古瀬戸茶入 (1603-1868)

• Place of Origin: Japan

• Artist: Unknown

• Period: Edo Period

• Date: 18th-19th Century

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Seto yaki

• Dimensions: H:7.5cm  D:6.0cm

• Department: Japanese Art

• Collection: Japanese Ceramics.

• Note: With an inscribed wooden box Tomobako.

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Edo Period  Seto Ridged Tea Caddy (Ko-Seto Nejikan Chaire 古瀬戸捻貫茶入) (1603-1868)

• Object Number: # JCC559

• Title: Old Seto Ridged Tea Caddy (Ko-Seto Nejikan Chaire 古瀬戸捻貫茶入)

• Place of Origin: Seto, Owari Province, Japan

• Artist: Unknown Seto Potter

• Period: Edo Period

• Date: 17th - 18th Century

• Materials: Dark stoneware (陶器) with brown glaze; Ivory lid (牙蓋) with gold leaf; Silk brocade pouch (仕覆); Wood box (桐箱) with ink calligraphy.

• Style or Ware: Seto Ware (瀬戸焼)

• Dimensions: - D: 5.8cm (estimated) H: 10 cm 

• Department: Asian Art / Japanese Ceramics

• Collection: The Romang Collection

• Description: A highly prized Seto stoneware tea caddy (chaire 茶入) featuring a distinct spiraling, ridged body. It has a rich brown glaze, a gold-leafed ivory lid, and a custom gold-brocade silk pouch decorated with chrysanthemum flowers.

• The accompanying paulownia wood box functions as a formal authentication document (kiwamebako 極め箱) identifying the piece as "Ko-Seto." It features a tea master's cursive script and a black ink monogram (kaō 花押) painted directly over a vermilion seal (seimei-in 姓名印)—a classic Edo-period anti-forgery technique. 

Edo Period Chaire Seto yaki Tea Caddy 江戸時代 古瀬戸茶入 (1603-1868)

• Object Number: #JCB595
  Title: Edo Period Chaire Tea Caddy
  Place of Origin: Japan
  Artist: Unknown
  Period: Edo Period (1603–1868)
  Date: Tenpō Era, ca. 1830–1844
  Materials: Stoneware with natural ash glaze; ivory lid
  Style / Ware: Seto Ware (Ko-Seto Revival, Kata-tsuki Form)
  Dimensions: D: 7.5cm H: 8.5cm
  Department: Japanese
  Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics

• Note: Accompanied by its original Edo-period tomobako (wooden storage box), bearing an underside inscription reading “Tenpō Miyage” (a purchase from the Tenpō era) and signed by the merchant Nakagawa Yasaburō. A fragment of reused Korean cursive script (old hangul) was found inside the box, typical of Edo merchant packing practices.

A Chinese Karamono-Style Soba-yu Chaire Tea Caddy. Edo Period (1603-1868)

• Object Number: #JCB567
  Title: Chinese Karamono-Style Soba-yu Chaire Tea Caddy. Edo Period (1603-1868)
  Place of Origin: Japan
  Artist: Unknown
  Period: Edo Period (1603–1868)
  Date: 
  Materials: Stoneware with soba-yu glaze; organic lid ivory/bone
  Style / Ware: 
  Dimensions: H 10 cm; W 7.5 cm
  Department: Japanese
  Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics

• Note: A compact, high-shouldered tea caddy glazed in a soft olive-brown soba-yu typical of Edo-period Japanese interpretations of Chinese stoneware. While inspired by imported karamono medicinal jars, the piece is fully Japanese in manufacture and tea-ceremony use. The stoneware body shows a natural transition from glaze to exposed clay, with an unglazed, heavily worn base attesting to age. The caddy retains its fitted ivory lid, patterned silk shifuku, and wooden tomobako, reflecting its long appreciation within the Japanese tea tradition.

Edo Period Chaire  鶴首 Tsurukubi, crane’s neck shaped.

• Object Number: #JCC574

• Title: Edo Period Chaire  鶴首 (Tsurukubi, crane’s neck shaped). Tea Caddy 

• Place of Origin: Japan 

• Artist: Unknown 

• Period: Edo Period (1603-1868) 

• Date: 18 Century. 

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Seto or Tamba  ware. 

• Dimensions: Diam: 6.0cm Height: 

• Department: Japanese 

• Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics. 

• Note: With the signed antique wooden tomobako storage box. 

Edo Period Chaire Seto yaki Tea Caddy 江戸時代 古瀬戸茶入

• Object Number: #JCC547

• Title: Edo Period Tea Caddy

• Place of Origin: Japan

• Artist: Unknown

• Period: Edo Period (1603-1868)

• Date: 18 Century.

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Set ware.

• Dimensions: D: 6.5 cm.  H: 9.3 cm.

• Department: Japanese Art

• Collection: Japanese Ceramics.

• Note: With the signed wooden tomobako storage box. 

Edo-period Seto ware suiteki (water dropper) 

• Object Number: #JCC561

• Title: Edo Period Seto Ware Mitate Mimitsuki Chaire (Converted Water Dropper Tea Caddy)

• Classification: Japanese Ceramics / Tea Ceremony Utensils (Chadōgu)

• Attribution: Seto Kilns, Japan Mid-to-Late Edo Period (18th–19th Century)

• Dimenssions: D: 8.5 cm H: 7.5 cm

• Box Inscription (Hakogaki): Ko-Seto Mimitsuki Chaire (Old Seto Eared Tea Caddy)

• A distinctive iron-glazed stoneware caddy, originally fired as a scholar's water dropper (suiteki) and elevated for tea use through the aesthetic of mitate. The asymmetrical form features a spout and loop handle, coated in a rich amber Seto glaze. The rim is highlighted by extensive gold lacquer repair (kintsugi), adding to its wabi-sabi character. The unglazed base displays precise itokiri (thread-cut) marks. Accompanied by an antique ivory lid with gold foil backing and the original inscribed wood box (tomobako).

Edo Period Chaire  Seto Yaki Tea Caddy

• Object Number: #JCC564

• Title: Edo Period Tea Caddy 

• Place of Origin: Japan 

• Artist: Unknown 

• Period: Edo Period (1603-1868) 

• Date: 18 Century. 

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Seto ware. 

• Dimensions: Diam: 6.0cm. Height: 9.2cm. Department: Japanese 

• Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics. 

• Note: With the antique wooden Tomobako storage box and Shifuku. 

Seto Imogashira Chaire

• Object Number: JCC563

• Title: Seto Imogashira Chaire

• Place of Origin: Japan
  Region/Kiln: Seto / Mino tradition

• Artist: Unknown

• Period: Late Edo Period (19th Century)

• Date: c. 1800 – 1860

• Materials: Stoneware with reduction-fired glaze; ivory lid; silk shifuku; wooden tomobako.
  Type: Chaire (Tea Caddy)

• Dimensions: H 7.0 cm × W 5.4 cm
  Weight: 82 g

• Collection: Japanese Tea Ceremony

• Description: Seto-style Imogashira chaire with a rounded, swelling form and a deep reduction-fired glaze showing indigo, violet, and chestnut transitions. Paired with its silk shifuku, ivory lid, and tomobako inscribed “瀬戸写 茶入.”

• Notes:Authentication is confirmed by the precise Uzu-itokiri (spiral thread cut) on the base—a definitive signature of 19th-century Seto craftsmanship. The piece is preserved with a gold-foil backed ivory lid (Kinpaku) and its original attribution box.

Chaire Seto yaki Tea Caddy 江戸時代 古瀬戸茶入 

• Object Number: #JCC478

• Title: Edo Period Tea Caddy 

• Place of Origin: Japan 

• Artist: Unknown 

• Period: 

• Date: 

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Seto ware. 

• Dimensions: Diam.: 6.5cm. Height: 8.5cm. Department: Japanese 

• Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics. 

• Note: With the signed wooden tomobako storage box. 

Edo Period Chaire Seto yaki Tea Caddy

• Object Number: #JCC534

• Title: Edo Period Chaire Tea Caddy 

• Place of Origin: Japan 

• Artist: Unknown 

• Period: Edo Period (1603-1868) 

• Date: 18 Century. 

• Materials: Ceramics 

• Style or Ware: Seto ware. 

• Dimensions: Diam.: 5.0cm Height: 8.0cm Department: Japanese 

• Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics. 

• Note: With the signed antique wooden tomobako storage box. 

Oketani Teiichi 桶谷定一  Marutsubo Chaire (Round Jar Tea Caddy) with Iron Glaze

• Object Number: # JCC618

• Title: Marutsubo Chaire (Round Jar Tea Caddy) with Iron Glaze

• Place of Origin: Rakutō (Eastern Kyoto), Japan

• Artist: Oketani Teiichi (桶谷定一)

• Period: Showa to Heisei Period

• Date: Late 20th Century

• Materials: Stoneware with dark iron glaze; traditional ivory-style lid; silk brocade shifuku; wooden tomobako.

• Style or Ware: Kyo-yaki (Kyoto Ware) / Seto Style

• Dimensions: D:7.5cm  H:  7.2cm

• Department: Japanese Ceramics

• Collection: The Romang Collection

• Description: A contemporary tea caddy (chaire) in the classic round jar (marutsubo) shape, crafted by the Kyoto specialist Oketani Teiichi (桶谷定一). The vessel features a highly controlled, rich dark amber and black iron glaze that smoothly coats the rounded shoulders and body, terminating cleanly just above the unglazed foot to reveal the fine-grained clay. It is accompanied by a traditional ivory-style lid and a finely woven rust-red and gold silk brocade pouch (shifuku). The piece is housed in its original signed wooden box (tomobako) from the Rakutō kiln.

Oketani Teiichi (桶谷定一) White Satsuma Chaire with Morning Glory Motif.

• Object Number: # JCC619

• Title: Kyo-Satsuma Style Chaire with Morning Glory Motif

• Place of Origin: Rakutō (Eastern Kyoto), Japan

• Artist: Oketani Teiichi (桶谷定一)

• Period: Showa to Heisei Period

• Date: Late 20th Century

• Materials: Earthenware, clear crackled glaze, polychrome enamels (iroe), gold (kinsai), traditional ivory-style lid, ceramic lid, silk shifuku, wooden tomobako.

• Style or Ware: Kyo-Satsuma / Kyo-yaki

• Dimensions: D:  6.8cm H:  9.5cm

• Department: Japanese Ceramics

• Collection: The Romang Collection

• Description: A highly refined Satsuma-style tea caddy (茶入 - chaire) crafted by the Kyoto master Oketani Teiichi (桶谷定一). The earthenware body features a clear glaze with a uniform fine crackle (貫入 - kannyū). The exterior is decorated with tactile overglaze enamels (色絵 - iroe) of morning glories (朝顔 - asagao), accented with gold (金彩 - kinsai) and trailing mist (すやり霞 - suyari-gasumi). The base shows a precise thread-cut spiral (糸切 - itogiri). It includes a formal gold-backed lid, an enameled ceramic lid, a silk pouch (仕覆 - shifuku), and the signed wooden box (共箱 - tomobako).

Onimaru Hekizan 初代 鬼丸 碧山 (1947–2006) Tea Caddy Chaire.

• Object Number: #JCC571

• Title: Takatori-yaki Katatsuki (Shouldered) Tea Caddy

• Place of Origin: Japan, Fukuoka Prefecture (Koishiwara)

• Artist: Onimaru Hekizan I (First Generation, 1947–2006)

• Period: Late Showa / Early Heisei Period

• Date: c. 1980–1995

• Materials: Stoneware, Iron-rich Glaze, Ivory Lid, Silk Shifuku

• Style or Ware: Takatori-yaki (Takatori Ware)

• Dimensions: D: 6.Ocm     H: 10cm

• Department: Tea Ceremony (Chanoyu) / Ceramics

• Collection: Japanese Collection

• Description: A fine Takatori-yaki chaire (tea caddy) by Onimaru Hekizan I (1947–2006). Features the kiln's signature thin potting, ito-giri (thread-cut) base, and lustrous iron-brown glaze with a cascading amber drip (nadare) in the Enshu-Takatori style. Includes custom ivory lid and silk shifuku.

• Note: Eldest son of founder Onimaru Setsuzan, Hekizan I received his name from the Daitoku-ji Abbot. His work is held in the Brooklyn Museum (Acc. No. 87.82). Dates to the "Setsuzan-gama" era (pre-2005).

• Description: Preserved in the original Tomobako (wooden box) signed "Takatori Hekizan Saku" with the original "Setsuzan-gama" leaflet.

Kimura Tōhō (木村陶峰) [b. 1927] Bizen Katatsuki Chaire 

• Object Number: #JCC569

• Title: Bizen Sangiri-yaki Katatsuki Chaire (Bizen Ware Sangiri Style Shouldered Tea Caddy)

• Place of Origin: Imbe, Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, Japan (日本岡山県備前市伊部)

• Artist: Kimura Tōhō (木村陶峰) [b. 1927] | Tōshō-en Kiln (陶正園)

• Period: Shōwa (昭和) – Heisei (平成) Period

• Date: Late 20th Century (c. 1970s–1990s)

• Materials: Unglazed Stoneware, Ivory (or substitute) lid

• Style or Ware: Bizen Ware (備前焼) | Sangiri (桟切) Firing Effect

• Dimensions: D: 5.5 cm  H: 8.5 cm

• Department: Japanese Tea Ceremony Utensils (Chadōgu / 茶道具)

• Collection: Japanese Collection

• Description: A classic Katatsuki (shouldered) tea caddy featuring the dramatic Sangiri (ash-buried) firing effect. The surface displays a sharp contrast between metallic slate-grey reduction tones and warm reddish-brown hiiro (fire color). Wheel-thrown with a distinct angular shoulder, it features a thread-cut (itokiri) base and the impressed "Tōhō" (陶峰) seal.

• Note: Kimura Tōhō (b. 1927) is the 2nd generation head of the Tōshō-en (陶正園) kiln and a descendant of the prestigious "Six Families of Bizen." He succeeded the lineage in 1962.