Te-aburi or hand-warming brazier for matcha tea ceremony in the form of a plump, long-eared rabbit. Of hand-sculpted, Ofuke type stoneware with an applied opaque, milky-white unofu ash glaze. Late Edo period, early 19th century.

With a later collector’s storage box, inscribed on the exterior of the lid: Usagi-gata te-aburi or Rabbit-form hand-warming brazier.

Ofuke Ware was made for the official use of the Owari Tokugawa house. The kiln was located on the grounds of Nagoya castle, in the Ofuke-no-maru compound on the grounds of the private residence of the Owari Tokugawa lords. The kiln was active by the 1670s (and likely earlier), by which time it was producing chaire or tea caddies for matcha tea ceremonies. Since the Ofuke workshop was run by all three official lineages of potters, who also worked at other Mino kilns using similar glazes, it can be difficult to be sure that a piece was fired on the castle grounds.

A 19th century Mino Ware rabbit brazier in the Montgomery Collection of Japanese Folk Art is illustrated in Timeless Beauty: Traditional Japanese Art, number 24.

This pale white hare would have been the perfect companion for late summer moon viewing. Long use and handling have darkened the crackling of the glaze beautifully across the top of the brazier, deepening the texture of the glaze. Finely carved lines render the fur, running back from the hare’s face, accentuating the arc of the ears, and swirling over the haunches.