Lidded Cinerary Urn

This ceramic urn was excavated from a Nara-period (710-794) tomb in Nakoso, Takanoguchi-machi, Wakayama Prefecture. Cinerary urns such as this held the ashes of the deceased after cremation. During the Nara period, Tenpyô (729-749) culture flourished under the strong influence of Tang China. This is an example of Nara tricolor ceramics, fashioned after Tang tricolor earthenware with overglazes of white, yellowish brown, and green. The shape of the urn is not Chinese, however, but typical of contemporary Japanese pieces, showing that implementation of imported techniques was selective. Similar examples of Nara tricolor ceramics have been handed down in the Shôsô-in repository.

— Museum description: Kyoto National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.