18th Century Dutch Delftware Faience Tea Caddy (Cha-ire) with Turned Ivory Lid and Tomobako

Story

During Japan's Sakoku isolation, Dutch traders at Dejima were the sole Westerners allowed entry, bringing exotic ceramics known as Oranda-yaki. Japanese tea masters cherished these foreign jars, commissioning custom ivory lids and silks to transform European ointment or tobacco pots into treasured tea ceremony vessels.

Maker / Origin

Delft potters in the 17th and 18th centuries initially rose to prominence imitating Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, but soon developed distinct polychrome tin-glazed earthenware styles. Marked with a painted initial 'N.' on the unglazed footrim, this piece comes from a specific Delft workshop producing exported wares that found their way into Dutch East India Company (VOC) trade routes.

Condition & Value

The ceramic body shows fine glaze crazing and minor rim wear consistent with 18th-century tin-glazed faience. The turned ivory lid shows fine natural age lines (hairlines) but remains complete. Overall remarkable condition for an imported 250-year-old utilitarian object, well-preserved inside its traditional wooden tomobako.