Dictionary

Iga ware en · NOUN

Etymology

Calque of Japanese 伊賀焼 (Iga-yaki).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) 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.
   • The Iga wares used by Furuta Oribe (1544–1615) and his peers were largely confined to flower vases and water jars. 2006, Gordon Campbell, The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts - Volume 1, →ISBN, page 495:
   • 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. 1952, Pageant of Japanese Art: Ceramics and metalwork, page 28:
   • 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). 1992, The Traditional Crafts of Japan: Ceramics, page 154:
   • 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. 2002, Ryōji Kuroda, Takeshi Murayama, Classic Stoneware of Japan: Shino and Oribe, →ISBN, page 44:

Forms