Iga ware

English

Etymology

Calque of Japanese 伊賀焼 (Iga-yaki).

Noun

Iga ware (countable and uncountable, plural Iga wares)

1. pottery or earthenware from the Iga region (now called Maruhashira) from the early 17th century, noted for its combination of glazed and unglazed surfaces, asymmetrical shapes, and characteristic scorching.
   • 1952, Pageant of Japanese Art: Ceramics and metalwork, page 28:

     Fujido Iga ware is distinguished by a clear-cut form, sculptured by hand or with spatula, a transparent glass-like glaze, and what ceramic experts call koge ("scorch"), that is, dark spots resulting from the carbon in the kiln.

   • 1992, The Traditional Crafts of Japan: Ceramics, page 154:

     The beginnings of Iga ware are not clearly known, but there is even a theory that traces it back to the Nara period (705-794).

   • 2002, Ryōji Kuroda, Takeshi Murayama, Classic Stoneware of Japan: Shino and Oribe, →ISBN, page 44:

     The characteristic qualities of Iga ware are scorching (koge), glaze drips, and reddish tints. Especially beautiful is the effect created by cascading drips of natural glaze. Mino Iga imitates true Iga ware in shape and is covered with a thin overglaze.

   • 2006, Gordon Campbell, The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts - Volume 1, →ISBN, page 495:

     The Iga wares used by Furuta Oribe (1544–1615) and his peers were largely confined to flower vases and water jars.

Anagrams

• Wergaia