Vase

Object Details

• Description

  Flower vase (hana-ike) of irregular shape with two bulbs at base and very uneven cylinder above. Flat foot with some glaze. Two square knob handles. Lacquer repairs and much paint on body.

  Clay: medium coarse, fired iron red where unglazed.

  Glaze: uneven cream and grayish color, crackled; some brownish, very uneven.

  Decoration: clay incised in some areas with both thick and thin lines.

• Provenance

  To 1898

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1898 [1]

  From 1898 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1898 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 57, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

  [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

  Imperfectly Beautiful: Inventing Japanese Ceramic Style (October 14, 2017 - October 14, 2019)

  The Power to See Beauty (October 14, 2017 to September 6, 2022)

  Golden Seams: The Japanese Art of Mending Ceramics (November 8, 2008 to May 10, 2009)

  Freer and Tea: 100 Years of The Book of Tea (November 19, 2005 to May 29, 2006)

  Isamu Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramics (May 3 to September 7, 2003)

  Japanese Art (May 9, 1993 to November 21, 1995)

  Japanese Art (November 7, 1986 to July 19, 1988)

  Japanese Ceramics from Past to Present (February 18, 1983 to February 16, 1984)

  Japanese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to January 17, 1980)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Iga kilns, Mie prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1610s, 1600s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan, Mie prefecture, Iga kilns

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Iga ware, Art, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), Lacquer repair, Stoneware, Japanese Art, Lacquer, Ceramics

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)