A jar of Seto ware, fired during the late Edo period. A stamped floral motif encircles the shoulder, over which a green glaze has been applied. The vessel belongs to a group commonly known as Luzhu, the historical Japanese term for Luzon, the island in the Philippines. The term Luzhu is thought to be a popular name borrowed from the Ruson-tsubo (Luzon jars) imported from overseas, evoking the exotic appearance of these vessels. Jars of this type were widely used in everyday life as ohaguro pots for storing blackening liquid used to dye the teeth.

Unlike the more conventional examples covered entirely in green glaze, the present jar displays an unusual division of colour, with a yellow-brown glaze applied to the lower half of the body. Together with its taller-than-usual proportions, the vessel possesses an appearance suggestive of pottery from the Mediterranean pottery. The green glaze has flowed downwards and mingled with the yellow-brown ground, the meeting and intermingling of the two glazes forming the principal landscape of the piece.

As jars of this type used as ohaguro pots are often found heavily stained, the remarkably clean state of the present example is particularly noteworthy. Apart from frits and small chips to the rim and foot, there are no notable defects.