A&A and the Princeton University Art Museum have honored Andrew Watsky, P.Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Professor of Japanese Art Emeritus, with the felicitous purchase of a Japanese Oribe teabowl and a Korean Goki teabowl. An expert in 16th-century Japanese art, Watsky developed a particular interest in the arts associated with tea practice during his tenure, appreciating its varied expression in mediums like ceramics, metalwork, bamboo, painting, calligraphy, and textiles.  These two objects embody the diversity inherent to tea practice that Watsky finds so intriguing. “Together, they exemplify some of the aesthetic diversity that has historically characterized Japanese tea practice: although both serve the same crucial function of being the vessel in which powdered tea is whisked in hot water and from which the tea is then consumed, they vary considerably in shape (one more or less symmetrically round and the other intentionally deformed); in place of manufacture (one Korea, the other Japan); and in decoration (one with a non-representational earth-toned glaze, the other deep black with a design of succinctly depicted gourds),” said Watsky. “Tea practitioners would have enjoyed these divergent qualities, part of the aesthetic experience that tea practice provided."

Japanese Oribe stoneware vessels, with their ovoid shapes and colorful brushed designs, upended convention when they emerged in the sixteenth century.  “Bursting into the largely monochromatic world of Japanese ceramics that was the standard before Oribe, these curiously shaped and energetically decorated wares must have made a striking impression on the tea aficionados of the time,” said Zoe Kwok, curator of Asian art for the Princeton University Art Museum.  The Museum’s newly acquired example dated to 1600–1610 is decorated with a delicate line of gourds on a vine, representing longevity and good luck.

The Korean Goki teabowl is named for its shape, with high walls and a tall footring.  Whereas such bowls were used as rice bowls for lower classes in Korea, early 16th-century Japanese tea men considered them the embodiment of the ideals of the visual aesthetics desirable for tea practice. Eventually Korean potters were producing order-made bowls for Japanese patrons solely for use in the practice of tea, such as this bowl. The tan and blush pink glaze and pitting (a result of firing) across the surface of Princeton’s 17th-to 18th-century example would have heightened its appeal for tea practice in Japan.

These exceptional objects are a fitting tribute to Watsky’s career at Princeton. “Andy’s impact in the Department of Art & Archaeology has been tremendous,” said Professor Rachael DeLue. “His scholarly work has significantly advanced understanding of the arts of Japan, especially chanoyu, the Japanese practice of drinking tea and appreciating the many carefully wrought and highly valued objects involved in the process. I consider myself fortunate to have sat down for tea with Andy, and to have seen the ritual first-hand as he prepared an exquisite bowl of matcha for me!” 

In retirement, Watsky plans to complete a book about 16th-century tea, synthesizing artifacts, diaries, and a historical treatise on tea dating to 1588.