Tenmoku & Jian Bowls

User avatar
Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Contact:

Wed Dec 13, 2017 12:16 am

Please share your Tenmoku ( 天目 ) and Jian ( 建 ) tea bowls here.

Jian ware (建盏) were first in use during the Song Dynasty (1127–1279) in Fujian, China during which time white tea was ground and whisked into a milky white froth (like green matcha today). This whisked milky white tea contrasted nicely against the oil-spot darker glazes developed at the time. In China the special Jian glazing technique was completely lost until it was reintroduced by the Japanese centuries later. Apparently only three intact Jian tea bowls still exist, all are in Japanese museums and designated as National Treasures. Japanese Buddhist monks returning from China brought these tea bowls into Japan during the 13th century, where since that time they have been artisanaly crafted, developed and held in high esteem. Most are made out of stoneware with two common types of glazes applied - Yohen (kiln change & hares-fur) and Yuteki (iron oxide oil spotting). The success rate in achieving desired glazing effects is extremely low, under 1%, and only a very few true Yohen Tenmoku pieces are made by an artist each year. Fake replicas are easy to find though. Today matcha drinkers enjoy using Tenmoku with the bright green froth contrasting the darker oil-spotted and hares-fur glazes.

A few well known 20th C Tenmoku artisans include:

KIMURA Morinobu (木村盛伸) [born 1932]
YOSHINORI Izumi (和泉良法) [born 1947]
KAMADA Kōji (鎌田幸二) [born 1948]
HAYASHI Kyōsuke (林恭助) [born 1962]
NAGAE Sōkichi IX (長江惣吉) [born 1963]
OKETANI Yasushi (桶谷寧) [born 1968]

here's an example of a modern piece @pedant shared earlier in the Kyō-yaki topic:
pedant wrote:
Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:50 am
a tenmoku cup by YOSHINORI Izumi (和泉良法) [born 1947]:

weight: 77g
capacity: 73mL
Image

Image
User avatar
archimon
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:20 pm
Location: New Jersey

Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:03 am

Does anyone know where I might able to buy some Douli (斗笠) cups like this one online: https://crimsonlotustea.com/products/ji ... udi-50ml-4? I’ve done a bit of looking and found these attractive cups at Taiwan sourcing (https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... t-tea-bowl), but it seems as though the bottoms on these are finished (i.e., not left unglazed), which is a bit unfortunate in my opinion. I’ve found some exquisite stuff on Artistic Nippon as well, but those are typically several hundred per cup, which is way more than I’d care to spend. There are also some mass produced imitation types that I’ve been able to find, e.g. https://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/product ... 16fd43adaa, but those aren’t really as elegant in my opinion. Maybe I’ll just have to do some looking the next time I manage to make it to Taiwan/Japan. I've added pictures of some examples below, but I'm okay with celadon/solid colored glaze as well as Tenmuku.

Here's the photo of the first one, which I think is quite attractive, but sadly out of stock:

Image

Here's a stunning Kyōyaki example of the style I'm looking for that can be found on Artistic Nippon (http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/k ... icup9.html), sadly priced well beyond my means at $324:

Image
DailyTX
Posts: 882
Joined: Wed Jul 03, 2019 4:43 pm
Location: United States

Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:57 am

archimon wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:03 am
Does anyone know where I might able to buy some Douli (斗笠) cups like this one online: https://crimsonlotustea.com/products/ji ... udi-50ml-4? I’ve done a bit of looking and found these attractive cups at Taiwan sourcing (https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... t-tea-bowl), but it seems as though the bottoms on these are finished (i.e., not left unglazed), which is a bit unfortunate in my opinion. I’ve found some exquisite stuff on Artistic Nippon as well, but those are typically several hundred per cup, which is way more than I’d care to spend. There are also some mass produced imitation types that I’ve been able to find, e.g. https://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/product ... 16fd43adaa, but those aren’t really as elegant in my opinion. Maybe I’ll just have to do some looking the next time I manage to make it to Taiwan/Japan. I've added pictures of some examples below, but I'm okay with celadon/solid colored glaze as well as Tenmuku.

Here's the photo of the first one, which I think is quite attractive, but sadly out of stock:

Image

Here's a stunning Kyōyaki example of the style I'm looking for that can be found on Artistic Nippon (http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/k ... icup9.html), sadly priced well beyond my means at $324:

Image
@archimon
If possible, buy those cups in person as the price is based on pattern. The same batch of cups due to the outcome of oil drip pattern, one can be bought for $50 while the more consistent pattern ones can go for $500.
User avatar
archimon
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:20 pm
Location: New Jersey

Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:09 pm

DailyTX wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:57 am
archimon wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:03 am
Does anyone know where I might able to buy some Douli (斗笠) cups like this one online: https://crimsonlotustea.com/products/ji ... udi-50ml-4? I’ve done a bit of looking and found these attractive cups at Taiwan sourcing (https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... t-tea-bowl), but it seems as though the bottoms on these are finished (i.e., not left unglazed), which is a bit unfortunate in my opinion. I’ve found some exquisite stuff on Artistic Nippon as well, but those are typically several hundred per cup, which is way more than I’d care to spend. There are also some mass produced imitation types that I’ve been able to find, e.g. https://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/product ... 16fd43adaa, but those aren’t really as elegant in my opinion. Maybe I’ll just have to do some looking the next time I manage to make it to Taiwan/Japan. I've added pictures of some examples below, but I'm okay with celadon/solid colored glaze as well as Tenmuku.

Here's the photo of the first one, which I think is quite attractive, but sadly out of stock:

Image

Here's a stunning Kyōyaki example of the style I'm looking for that can be found on Artistic Nippon (http://www.artisticnippon.com/product/k ... icup9.html), sadly priced well beyond my means at $324:

Image
archimon
If possible, buy those cups in person as the price is based on pattern. The same batch of cups due to the outcome of oil drip pattern, one can be bought for $50 while the more consistent pattern ones can go for $500.
Huh, okay, thanks for the insight. Are there any places in particular that you think it would be good to look for these? As you can probably tell, I'm much more comfortable on the $50 side of that spectrum vs. the $500 side :D
Teachronicles
Posts: 436
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:13 am
Location: SF Bay Area, CA

Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:20 pm

archimon wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:03 am
Maybe I’ll just have to do some looking the next time I manage to make it to Taiwan/Japan.
Ive heard of stands at the side of the road in taiwan and Japan selling tenmoku cups for much cheaper than you'd be able to get them at online Western catered vendors. So that might be a good idea to wait.
User avatar
archimon
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:20 pm
Location: New Jersey

Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:41 pm

Teachronicles wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:20 pm
archimon wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:03 am
Maybe I’ll just have to do some looking the next time I manage to make it to Taiwan/Japan.
Ive heard of stands at the side of the road in taiwan and Japan selling tenmoku cups for much cheaper than you'd be able to get them at online Western catered vendors. So that might be a good idea to wait.
:o Where exactly might one find these stands, I wonder?
Teachronicles
Posts: 436
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:13 am
Location: SF Bay Area, CA

Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:53 pm

archimon wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:41 pm
Teachronicles wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 12:20 pm
archimon wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:03 am
Maybe I’ll just have to do some looking the next time I manage to make it to Taiwan/Japan.
Ive heard of stands at the side of the road in taiwan and Japan selling tenmoku cups for much cheaper than you'd be able to get them at online Western catered vendors. So that might be a good idea to wait.
:o Where exactly might one find these stands, I wonder?
Tbh I've only heard of that anecdote once, I'm not entirely sure how true it is, or how widespread they are. Maybe @Bok or another Asia residing person can comment on the general availability of more affordable jian/tenmoku ware in Asia. I think obviously it's much more available than in the west.
User avatar
Bok
Vendor
Posts: 5782
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:55 am
Location: Taiwan

Sun Jun 21, 2020 7:49 pm

Usually the stuff sold at the roadside is third class trash from Taobao...

But of course anything tea related is a lot cheaper in Asia. You can find a lot in shops everywhere antiques, vintage, new. Many potters here do them as well.
User avatar
archimon
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:20 pm
Location: New Jersey

Sun Jun 21, 2020 8:02 pm

Bok wrote:
Sun Jun 21, 2020 7:49 pm
Usually the stuff sold at the roadside is third class trash from Taobao...

But of course anything tea related is a lot cheaper in Asia. You can find a lot in shops everywhere antiques, vintage, new. Many potters here do them as well.
I'll no doubt be doing some serious shopping the next time I'm in Taiwan :) .Wish I had explored the crafts scene there more when I lived there a few years back, but alas!
Bintuborg
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2020 3:29 pm
Location: San Diego, Ca

Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:20 pm

I have some tenmoku cups from verdant tea that are good quality. They are in stock too:
https://verdanttea.com/teas/jian-zhan-t ... s-fur-cup/
User avatar
archimon
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:20 pm
Location: New Jersey

Mon Jun 22, 2020 2:01 pm

Bintuborg wrote:
Mon Jun 22, 2020 1:20 pm
I have some tenmoku cups from verdant tea that are good quality. They are in stock too:
https://verdanttea.com/teas/jian-zhan-t ... s-fur-cup/
Thanks for pointing this out! That's certainly a nice cup, but I think I've made a few moves that will keep me satisfied until I'm back in Asia and can do some in-person shopping. I wrote to Petr Novak, and he is going to make some cups for me in the style of this tea bowl: https://keramikstudio.artkeramika.cz/en ... oduct/502/, which will certainly keep me happy for some time. I also just grabbed these: https://www.markmohlerpottery.com/shop/ ... s-in-shino, so I have a glut of new cups incoming!
User avatar
debunix
Posts: 1812
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:27 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Tue Jun 23, 2020 10:25 am

I've got two pieces by Petr with a similar glaze, one with a similar shape:

Image

Image

Image

I wonder how he made those brown dots!

It reminds me of flowstone formations in caves

Image
User avatar
archimon
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:20 pm
Location: New Jersey

Tue Jun 23, 2020 12:09 pm

debunix wrote:
Tue Jun 23, 2020 10:25 am
I've got two pieces by Petr with a similar glaze, one with a similar shape:

Image

Image

Image

I wonder how he made those brown dots!

It reminds me of flowstone formations in caves

Image
I saw that lovely piece in the Novak/Rendova thread! I love the liquidy qualities of the glaze in that cup/the bowl I linked, and the contrast with the unglazed clay really just...works for me. Hopefully the cups will turn out to be just as nice as your piece (is it a tea bowl, or a cup? It's hard to tell....) :)
Minatures
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:11 pm

Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:06 pm

Hi,

Whilst as a newbie, I started with the classic 3x gongfu cups, I find my solo sessions are in need of a much bigger cup. I am currently fascinated with jian ware but trying to order anything from the UK is near impossible to find. To get myself started I ended up with the tourist cheap stuff from Amazon!

Just received it and didn’t expect the glaze to feel rough to the touch! Is this normal guys? Worried about any chemicals or iron content not being the best thing to consume!!! I was expecting an almost glass like feel.

Looks nice though (despite box packaging showing as made in Tawain and made in China in the paperwork… would appreciate any thoughts on this issue and if anyone could recommend more authentic sources that can be sourced. Some pics posted looks pretty awesome 😎
Attachments
7512E251-3DB3-4E37-926A-03870F12BE58.jpeg
7512E251-3DB3-4E37-926A-03870F12BE58.jpeg (301.39 KiB) Viewed 14827 times
82EF89D5-B1F1-4B01-BDC1-141F1C1C935F.jpeg
82EF89D5-B1F1-4B01-BDC1-141F1C1C935F.jpeg (233.41 KiB) Viewed 14827 times
Minatures
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:11 pm

Fri Jul 16, 2021 2:32 am

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend the best type of tea to go with these cups?

People say there’s tea changing properties and I definitely agree. I was testing some high grade TGY and whilst it thickened and smoothed the tea, I lost the delicate high notes and felt more like drinking hot water!

I liked how it compliments green tea, but it may no longer be my everyday cup :(
Post Reply