Raku Sonyu, 1664-1715, Japanese, Edo period, c. 1691-1716, Tea Bowl named "Ikezuki".

NORTHAMPTON, MA.- The Smith College Museum of Art presents Fashioning Tradition: Japanese Tea Wares from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, on view through May 27, 2007. Fashioning Tradition: Japanese Tea Wares from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries features objects associated with the tea ceremony, which has become a metaphor for Japanese culture and Japanese aesthetics both in Japan and the West. The custom of drinking tea is traditionally said to have been imported to Japan from China during the 9th century, but did not become widespread until the 13th century when it was used by Zen monks to stay awake during meditation. In the 15th and 16th centuries, tea masters combined the drinking of tea with the appreciation of works of art in a carefully choreographed setting, a practice that came to be known as sadō, or the way of tea. Lire la suite http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=19865