Kyoto ware individual serving bowl in shape of sedge hat, with mark "Kiyomizu"

Object Details

• Description

  Individual serving bowl (mukozuke [Jpn]) in shape of woven hat (amigasa [Jpn]). Elongated ovoidal; low circular foot. Gold lacquer repairs.

  Clay: hard, grayish at core; pinkish-fawn under glaze.

  Glaze: transparent.

  Decoration: in iron, under glaze.

  Mark: Kiyomizu [Jpn].

• Marks

  Kiyomizu [Jpn]

• Label

  This ceramic bowl takes the form of a common and inexpensive hat made of the marsh grass sedge. Cobalt lines suggest the hat's coarse woven texture. Such hats not only protected wearers from the sun but also disguised those who did not wish to be recognized, especially men on their way to the pleasure quarters. (Shops at the entrance to Kyoto's entertainment district sold hats specifically for that purpose.) In sophisticated Kyoto, a bowl of this shape would have lent an amusing note to a meal served in a tea house. Alternatively, if the bowl were used for a summer meal, the associations of shape and material might have been merely seasonal. Sets of bowls in this shape were enduringly popular in the repertory of Kyoto ceramics.

• Provenance

  To 1897

  Rufus E. Moore, New York to 1897 [1]

  From 1897 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Rufus E. Moore in 1897 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 388, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Potter's Mark: Tea Ceramics and Their Makers (August 18, 2007 to February 24, 2008)

  Games, Contests and Artful Play in Japan (March 19 to October 23, 2005)

  Dinner for Five: Japanese Serving Dishes for Elegant Meals (March 4 to October 21, 2001)

  Kyoto Ceramics (November 9, 1984 to April 25, 1985)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Rufus E. Moore (1840-1918) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Kiyomizu kilns, Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Moore, Rufus E.

• Place

  Kyoto, Japan, Kiyomizu kilns, Kyoto prefecture

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Lacquer repair, Old Kiyomizu ware, Stoneware, Kyoto ware, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Lacquer, Ceramics

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)