Ido Chawan 17th. century Korea with wood box

Ido Ware, Korean Joseon Dynasty (16th-17th century). The light cream bowl is decorated overall with a crackled cream glaze.

Rustic and sophisticated at the same time, this vessel is another great example of the beauty of Korean Ido chawans.

"Ido" chawan (tea bowl) is the first of three types of famous Japanese Tea Ceremony bowls. A very famous saying in the Tea Ceremony is "First Ido, second Raku, third Karatsu". It means Ido chawan is the highest grade tea bowl. Even though Ido chawan did not originate in Japan but in Korea, many Japanese have recognized them as the top grade tea bowl for the Tea Ceremony through the ages. Ido chawan was a low grade bowl used for daily necessities in the early Joseon dynasty in Korea (1392-1910). Substantial numbers of Ido chawan were shipped to japan in order to meet Japanese demand. By the Momoyama period in Japan (1568-1603), famous tea ceremony artist Sen no Rikyu had appeared and was promoting the wabi spirit in the Tea ceremony. Wabi means finding the beauty in imperfection. So Ido chawan from Korea hit the heart of many Japanese people who were pursuing the wabi spirit at that time. The shapes of Ido chawan bowls are imperfect indeed, however they contain perfect natural beauty.

No cracks or repairs except inborn kiln cracks. It comes in a good quality Korean wood box, which we purchased in the 1990's in South Korea to keep this Ido tea bowl safe.

Size: 8,6 cm height x 15,1cm diameter.