Tea bowl in style of Hon'ami Koetsu, unknown Raku ware workshop

Object Details

• Description

  Deep cylindrical tea bowl, retired foot.

  Gold lacquer repair.

  Clay: soft, grayish, Raku type.

  Glaze: grayish yellow-pink; dark crackle. Faint iridescence. Red Raku glaze.

• Label

  The Kyoto calligrapher, connoisseur, and sword polisher Koetsu (1558-1637) created large, irregular tea bowls whose appealing forms inspired countless later copies. As Koetsu himself had done, the person who made this bowl probably collaborated with a professional Raku-ware workshop to have the bowl glazed and fired.

• Provenance

  To 1898

  Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1898 [1]

  From 1898 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1898 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 445, 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 Koetsu Tea Bowl (May 15, 1998 to June 23, 2005)

  An Invitation to Tea (November 9, 1996 to April 26, 1998)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Kyoto, Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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• Related Resources

  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, Matsuki, Bunkio

• Place

  Kyoto, Japan

• Topic

  Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Iridescence, Ceramics, Raku ware

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)