Hand-blown Water Glass

and-blown water glass (tumbler). 3-5/8" high x 2-15/16" diameter top, 2-1/2" diameter bottom. Purchased in the Folk Craft Museum, Shin-Kurashiki, Japan (about 100 miles west of Osaka, see map below), January 1984. (Note: The glass does not taper toward the bottom nearly as much as the picture makes it look like, due to picture having been taken very close, with camera in "macro" mode.)

The museum shop had about 6 or 8 of these glasses for sale (all the same price: 750 yen, ca. US$3.00, at 260 yen to the dollar). I examined all of them carefully, noting how one or another looked too wide for its height, or had some other infelicitous attribute. This one seemed the best. It is not perfect (it has a number of small scratches in the glass), but, on the whole, it seemed then, and, now 15 years later continues look to me good. Although it cost very little, I value it almost as much as the sake cup I had bought shortly before. I use it almost every day, and, each time I use it, I study and appreciate it some more. (I also use and value small cobblestones as secularized domestic "spirits": please have a look....)

I have seen this kind of glass used in Japanese museum display cases to keep the air in the case from getting too dry. In one of the corners of the display case there will be one of these glasses, filled with water.

Return to Kakumi Seiho Bizen ware sake cup page.
See hand-blown water glass by Patricia Esch (1971).
 

Visit  garden I designed for front yard of my home, inspired by Ise "Wedded rocks" (1996?).   Go to website Table of Contents. Return to Brad McCormick's home page. Return to site map.

http://www.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/WaterGlass.html Copyright © 1998-2006 Brad McCormick, Ed.D. bradmcc@cloud9.net 17 April 2006CE
v02.14