Attributed to Raku 9th Ryonyu (1756-1834) AKA-RAKU Teabowl #5540

width: approx. 12.5cm (4.9in)

height: approx. 8.5cm (3.3in)

weight: 287g (w/ box 560g)

condition: small damage in rim

Accessories: Wooden box (Tomobako), Fabric pouch (Shifuku)

Shipping: Shipped from Japan with a tracking number. We take great care in professional packaging to ensure the item arrives safely.

The tomobako (original wooden storage box) accompanying this work by Keinyu, the 11th generation of the Raku family, bears an inscription on the inside of the lid written by Gengensai, the 11th Grand Master of the Urasenke school. The inscription reads:

"Raku Chonyu, Aka-Raku Chawan, named AKANESORA."

AKANESORA means "the crimson sky at sunset," and I feel it is a particularly fitting poetic name (mei) for this tea bowl.

Ordinarily, in a case such as this, it would be natural to assume that Keinyu created a reproduction (utsushi) of a work by Chonyu, and that Gengensai subsequently bestowed the name upon it. However, the impressed seal on the tea bowl itself resembles Chonyu's mark rather than Keinyu's. (Personally, I believe it may in fact be Ryonyu's seal.)

According to information passed down from the previous owner, this piece is considered to be a work by Chonyu. However, taking into account the possibility that a collector may have accidentally mismatched the bowl and its box during storage at some point in the past, I have chosen to list this piece as a work by Ryonyu.