Teabowl 1855 - 1875

This is a tea bowl by Hachiroemon Murase II, currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The first impression of the teabowl lies in its striking form, a cube that softens towards its base. A thick glaze covers the piece, fractured into a network of fine lines, which create an almost organic, map-like texture across the surface. This teabowl challenges our expectations of functionality by destabilizing established meanings. The square form breaks away from the traditional roundness associated with tea bowls, thus transforming a familiar object into a sculpture. The bowl can be interpreted through the lens of semiotics, where the cracks in the glaze act as signs pointing towards concepts of time, fragility, and the natural processes of change. The crackle glaze—each line a rupture—encourages us to question fixed meanings and embrace imperfection.