Bowl

This cut-glass bowl is among those that were created in large quantities in Sassanian Persia and later brought to the Japanese archipelago. This cut-glass bowl was made in Iran during the Sassanian period, which lasted from the third to the seventh century. Many similar items have been found in the northern part of Iran, with this bowl carried all the way to distant Japan as a valuable specialty object. Another remarkably similar glass bowl has been passed down as one of the treasures of the Shosoin Repository of Todai-ji temple, Nara. Both bowls have a slight amber hue and they are both roughly the same size, with the same number and arrangement of cut-glass circles. The rounded form could probably sit comfortably in the hand, though the cut surface seems quite sharp. This bowl was discovered during the Edo period in a tumulus purportedly built in the 6th century to house the body of Emperor Ankan.

The Edo period saw a boom in the study of ancient Japanese ideas and culture, based on a reading of the classics. This coincided with a growing interest in ancient artifacts, with the bowl also attracting the attention of many cultured figures. Like an implement for the tea ceremony, this bowl was handed down in a specialist silk pouch placed inside a lacquer inner box and a wooden outer box. The black sections show where lacquer was used to fill cracks. This reveals just how much the previous owner treasured the bowl. While the bowl in the Shosoin Repository remains in a pristine condition with next-to-no flaws, the history of this precious object is on full display in these lacquered seams.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.