A powerful sculptural form, this jar represents the finest quality in traditional Japanese tea ceremony ceramics. The Iga kilns, near Kyoto, are best known for tea utensils produced during the Momoyama and early Edo periods. This jar exhibits the colorful, forceful style associated with the taste of Kyoto tea masters Furuta Oribe and Kobori Enshu. The full, rounded body is deliberately flattened on two sides. A spatula was used to impress a playful geometric motif of lines and dots. Meandering curved lines encircling the body are deeply incised with a sharp implement. Two vertical lines mark the front center, back and right sides. An especially deep incision at the base of the front of the jar caused the thick clay wall to split during firing. The tall neck has an angular collar, which gives it a stepped profile. The neck is further demarcated by two distinctive, notched ears or handles, one on each side. A green ash glaze has fallen on the shoulders, front surface and inside lip of the neck. Where the surfaces project, the glaze has puddled to a deep, rich green. The self-concious and contrived manipulation of the clay and glaze is typical of a time when surface effects were no longer entirely natural.