Early Edo period (17th century)
Donated by the Homma family
Oribe ware is a type of pottery produced in the kilns of Motoyashiki in Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture). The name derives from the fact that under the guidance of Oribe Furuta, a disciple of Sen no Rikyū (the politically influential tea master who first codified the chanoyu way of tea ceremony), the kilns fired many tea utensils in eccentric and novel designs favored by Oribe himself.
The name of this tea container is thought to have been inspired by a line from a poem in the Wakan rōeishū, a classic anthology of Japanese and Chinese poetry. Choseiden (the Japanese reading of the kanji for Changsheng Hall, resting place of Emperor Suzong) is often depicted with auspicious motifs or scenes from spring and autumn; this tea container depicts swallows and geese—migratory birds of spring and autumn.