New member, new chawan… mystery?

[Speedy]

Hi Everyone,
My first post on TeaChat, and I guess a little bit of an introduction. I just very recently just got my first chawan. I found it in an antique store in SF and the owner told me that it was a Seto Guro style bowl, and that, although he didn’t think it had been used I should boil it for 10-20 min before using it. It came with a box (Kiribako?) with some printed pages inside an inscription on the front and on the inside of the lid (photo’s below). I was wondering if anyone might be able to translate the box for me?

Now a bit of mystery. In some light, the central character on the inside of the lid appears to have lighter wood around it. As if someone had sanded off an old character and written the new one. Any idea what this might be? I could see someone doing this if they were trying to pass the chawan off as something it wasn’t, but it wasn’t presented as an extra special bowl, only a chawan suitable for everyday use.Maybe it’s the wrong box, although it does seem to fit pretty well.

Thanks,
Looking forward to posting more!

Chawan.jpg (41.37 KiB) Viewed 747 times

Box.jpg (50.98 KiB) Viewed 747 times

Lid.jpg (52.32 KiB) Viewed 747 times

[Drax]

I don't have a lot of time, but in your picture of the outside of the box, the characters on the right do look like Seto Guro (瀬戸黒). The characters to the left of it look like "chawan."

Not sure about the potentially rubbed off spot. Maybe the writer made an error and they needed to redo it?

But I think the real question is not the box, but the chawan. Can you find any marks on it?

[Drax]

Oh, and the inside... the middle column:

銘 means signature (artisan mark).

That name then is likely 一会 (either Ichie or Kazue).

Of course, that second symbol is the one potentially redone....

[Speedy]

Hi Drax,
Thanks! Good to know.
The chawan looks like it only has one mark, on the bottom:

Bottom.jpg (44.47 KiB) Viewed 640 times

Sorry, I'm not sure if I even have the mark right side up.

The clay body visible at the bottom has started to darken a little after the past week of use.

The chawan is pleasant to drink from and it has a lovely solid sound when you tap the chashaku, despite being very light. (I guess from the more porous clay).

Thanks!

[Tead Off]

These Seto/Mino chawan often have obscure marked lines identifying the potter. Figuring it out is another matter.

[Drax]

Yeah that signature reminds me of how bizen potters sign their wares. It has its own system!