Antique Korean Ceramic Komogai Chawan with Tamagode Glaze

Description

A ceramic tea bowl with milky white glaze made in Korea for Japanese market circa 16-17th century.
The thinly potted … more A ceramic tea bowl with milky white glaze made in Korea for Japanese market circa 16-17th century.
The thinly potted bowl is in the shape called Hatazori-gata (curving-lip type) that is known as Komogai (or Kumagawa) type. It was named after the historical port of Komogai, close to Bushan in Gyongsangnam-do, southern coast of Korea, where these bowls were traded and exported to Japan in the 16-17th century. The white glaze that covers nearly the entire surface resembles the color and texture of eggshell, therefore is known as Tamago-de. This type of glaze is rather rare, and few examples exist. It was believed that the Tamago-de glaze was only made in Korea from late 16th to mid-17th century during Japan's Edo period.
The tea bowl on offer bears typical characteristic of Tamago-de glaze. The smooth milky color glaze shows a fine crackle with scattered spots of flakes exposing the dark clay underneath. The glaze on the rim was largely worn off, so was on the base. There is a subtle indentation on the bottom of the interior known as kagami (tea pool). The ring base is relatively thick compared to the base and trimmed by the potter's knife. It appears delicate to the eyes, but it feels strong in the hands.
The bowl comes with a fabric pouch (Shifuku) and a tomobako box of a later period.
See a Tamago-de tea bowl named ‘Tamatsubaki’ in the collection of MOA (Musuem of Art, Atami, Japan). It has a slightly different shape.
For three Komogai-nari shaped tea bowls with various glaze, see G-5328, TG-2 and TG-2712 in the collection of Tokyo National Museum. less