Square pot

Japan

17th century

Shōdai ware, stoneware with white glaze

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A square stoneware bottle with a narrow neck and a white glaze is displayed against a plain gray background. The bottle has a crack running down its front and shows variations in the glaze, with darker areas and some speckling. Tradition holds that Shōdai wares were first made under the direction of the warrior Katō Kiyomasa (1562–1611), who is said to have invited Korean potters to his domain in far western Japan and opened a kiln at the base of Mount Shōtai. Although the veracity of this particular story is undetermined, it is a fact that Korean potters were active in Kyūshū by the end of the sixteenth century, and Shōdai works such as this bottle (probably used as a sake container) do suggest the influence of the Korean ceramic tradition. Gallery Not on View Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation