Ritas Bazaar has dated this Japanese Sumida Gawa Mug to the 1910s.
Dark-bodied earthenware, heavily ribbed and wheel-thrown, finished with the characteristic matte black Sumida slip (rather than the orange-red slip seen on other examples from the kiln). The upper third and interior are covered in a dramatic flambé glaze ranging through aubergine-black, amber, iron-yellow and plum-red, with irregular drips running down the ribbed body — a kiln effect prized by the Ryōsai workshop. The hand-pulled handle, modeled as a gnarled branch, is covered in the same flowing amber-black flambé glaze. The applied decoration combines modeled earthenware (face, hands, feet) with porcelain fragments in underglaze cobalt blue and white (robe, jar).
A sennin (仙人) — most likely Chōkarō Sennin (張果老), the Daoist immortal — depicted as a bald elderly figure with a deeply lined, expressive face modeled with remarkable realism, leaning over the rim of the mug. He wears a porcelain robe with blue-and-white floral motifs and grasps a large porcelain blue-and-white sake jar or gourd, resting on an amber-glazed support suggesting a rock or cloud. The figure is fully sculpted in high relief, his head rising above the lip of the mug.
Hallmark: applied porcelain cartouche on the reverse of the body, painted in underglaze cobalt blue with the cursive signature Ryōsai (良斎), characteristic of the Inoue Ryōsai workshop.
Dimensions: H 12.5 cm, D 8 cm. Weight 440 g.
Very good condition, some age-related wear. Light surface abrasion and minor glaze nibbles to the ribbed ridges. The sennin and jar are intact, with no visible restoration. Glazed interior; holds liquid.
Ritas Bazaar has dated this Japanese Sumida Gawa Mug to the 1910s.
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Ritas Bazaar Profile Page
Large Sumida Gawa Mug with Applied Sennin Figure, Signed Ryōsai — Inoue Ryōsai Workshop, Meiji / Taishō Period
