Waste Water Jar

  • Southeast Asia
  • 16-17c
  • Nanban type
  • H-7.9 D-14
Catalogue Entry

16th to 17th centuries
Namban ware, earthenware
Height, 7.9cm; mouth diameter, 13.7cm

Examples of so-called Namban ware fresh water jars and flower vases were used during the Muromachi period, and it is not clear when these wares began to also be used as
kensui waste water jars. A well-known example of Namban ware kensui waste water jars is the large jar with tan glaze, and there are several examples, as here, where Southeast Asian utilitarian vessels have been used as waste water jars. The origins of this waste
water jar are not clear, and there are examples of Namban wares from Vietnam, Thailand, and the southern provinces of China, and even some ceramics from the Korean
Peninsula are called Namban ware.

The shape of this waste water jar seems to be based on a metallic vessel form with a
stepped layer in its broad mouth and again in the upper area of the torso. The stretch of
fine, wavy comb lines along the top of the torso area is a device often seen in Namban
wares. A thinly applied dark brown glaze has been applied to the vessel's exterior surface, and Namban wares are either glazed, as here, or are unglazed wares. TA