Antique Japanese Brown Tenmoku Ware Tea Bowl Shippo Design, Kyoto Iwakurayama, 18th Century

DescriptionA fine antique Japanese Tenmoku ware tea bowl with a warm brown glaze and elegant, understated form, dating to the 18th century. This refined example is decorated with shippo motifs, the traditional “seven treasures” design of interlocking circles symbolizing harmony, good fortune, and endless connection. The pattern adds a graceful layer of meaning to the bowl while remaining beautifully restrained.The bowl’s deep, lustrous glaze pools naturally across the interior, creating a rich and atmospheric surface long admired in Japanese tea ceramics. The exterior is further enlivened by the applied shippo decoration, offering a subtle contrast against the darker ground. Its balanced proportions, well-defined foot, and pleasing hand feel make it especially suitable as a tea bowl for appreciation and display.Tenmoku ware is celebrated for its dark, iron-rich glazes and its close association with the aesthetics of chanoyu, where depth, quiet strength, and subtle surface variation are highly valued. This example, attributed to Iwakurayama, Kyoto, reflects that tradition with a distinctive regional character and refined 18th century presence.Shippo, meaning “seven treasures,” is one of the most beloved auspicious designs in Japanese art. Formed by interlocking circles, it symbolizes harmony, continuity, and the infinite nature of relationships and good fortune. On this tea bowl, the shippo motif brings both decorative elegance and deeper symbolic meaning, making the piece especially appealing within the world of Japanese tea ceramics.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.Age: Edo 1603 – 1868, Circa 18th CenturyDimensions: 2 3/4″ x 4 1/3″