Chaire: Masterworks of the Japanese Tea-Caddy Tradition

From Edo-period masterpieces to contemporary studio interpretations, our chaire collection illuminates the vital role of the tea-caddy in the Japanese tea ceremony. As the vessel entrusted with precious koicha, the chaire embodies the harmony, purity and introspective contemplation central to the ritual—its quiet elegance carrying forward centuries of culture, craftsmanship and meaning into the present day.

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

Object Number: #JCC572
Title: Edo Period Seto ware Tea caddy of Taikai type Chaire (1603-1868)
Place of Origin: Japan
Artist: Unknown
Period: Edo Period
Date: 18th-19th Century
Materials: Ceramics
Style or Ware: Seto yaki
Dimensions: H:6.5 cm D:9.6 cm
Department: Japanese
Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics.
Note: With the wooden box Tomobako and Shifuku.

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:6.5 cm D:9.6 cm
Department: Japanese Art
Collection: Japanese Ceramics.
Note: With an inscribed wooden box Tomobako.

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.

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

Object Number: #JCC478
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.: 6.5cm. Height: 8.5cm. Department: Japanese
Art Collection: Japanese Ceramics.
Note: With the signed antique 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.

Edo Period Chaire Seto Yaki Tea Caddy

Object Number: #JCC574
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 Meiji–Taishō Era.
Date: c. 1880–1925
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:
A refined late Meiji–Taishō revival work. Glaze character, clay body, and aged ivory lid confirm an early 20th-century origin rather than Edo Ko-Seto.