Rare Antique Japanese Tenmoku Tea Caddy (Cha-ire) Shidoro Ware, 18th Century

DescriptionA rare fine Edo Japanese cha-ire in rich brown Tenmoku glaze, attributed to Shidoro ware and dating to the 18th century. This elegant tea caddy has a beautifully rounded ovoid form with softly tapering shoulders and a quiet, restrained silhouette that reflects the refined simplicity admired in Japanese tea ceramics. The dark glaze has a deep, warm surface with subtle tonal variation and flowing natural effects created during firing, giving the vessel a strong yet understated presence.The caddy is fitted with its original lid that is gilt in gold on th bottom. Was made for the storage of powdered tea, an object of both practical and ceremonial importance within the world of chanoyu. Pieces like this were valued not only for utility, but for their shape, surface, balance, and the contemplative feeling they brought to the tearoom. The gently lustrous Tenmoku finish and honest form make this example especially appealing to collectors of Japanese tea wares.Shidoro ware, produced in present-day Shizuoka Prefecture, is one of Japan’s important historic ceramic traditions and is particularly admired for tea ceramics with natural glazes and earthy character. This cha-ire carries that aesthetic beautifully, combining functional elegance with the quiet depth that makes early Japanese tea wares so enduring.A strong and collectible 18th century Japanese tea caddy, ideal for collectors of cha-ire, Shidoro ware, and traditional tea ceremony objects.Tenmoku refers to a type of iron-rich glaze prized for its deep, dark tones and subtle surface effects, long associated with tea ceramics in Japan. On a tea caddy such as this, the glaze enhances the vessel’s quiet strength and organic beauty, while its softly varied brown-black surface reflects the spontaneity of the kiln and the wabi-sabi sensibility at the heart of Japanese tea culture.Provenance: From the personal collection of Frederic Cheever Torrey (1864-1935), partner of Vickery, Atkins & Torrey, interior design firm and art gallery founded in San Francisco in 1888.The gallery, most famous for its role in helping to introduce California to Impressionism, also offered fine works of Asian porcelain and Japanese woodblock prints. The location moved from several places in San Francisco and settled at 236 Post Street (now called Maiden Lane) when the 1906 earthquake hit. Though the resulting fire destroyed the gallery, Henry Atkins and gallery employees were able to rescue 3 wagon loads of art. In time, the partners opened a sweeping multi-leveled gallery in their permanent location at 550 Sutter Street.Frederic Torrey was the expert collector behind the gallery’s opulent array of Asian art in addition to oil paintings , prints and photographs. His home on Canyon Rd in Berkeley is now simply called Torrey House and was the location of his personal collection which included, most famously, Marcel Duchamp’s “Nude Descending a Staircase”.An evaluation was done in the 1930’s by TZ Shiota, a prominent SF Tea Ceremony Dealer, when Frederic Torrey’s great grandchildren inherited the collection. The collection was stored in a trunk since his death in 1935.Comes with original tag inside reads “exported for me by Prof. E.S. Wore. 1913″Age: Edo period 1603 – 1868, Circa early 18th CenturyDimensions: 3″ x 2 1/2”