Kenzan-style water jar with crane and fishnet design

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

On View
  • Period

    late 19th century
  • Geography

    Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture, Japan
  • Material

    Buff stoneware with white slip and iron pigment under clear and ochre-colored lead glazes
  • Dimension

    H x Diam: 18.8 × 21.4 cm (7 3/8 × 8 7/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1898.52a-b
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1898.52a-b

Object Details

  • Artist

    Imitation of Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743)
    Kyoto workshop
  • Description

    Tea ceremony water jar with matching lid (tomobuta mizusashi).
    Clay: soft, grayish.
    Glaze: thin dark red-brown.
    Decoration: in over-glaze white and black. Herons and drying nets.
  • Signatures

    Kenzan
  • 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. 34, 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 Peacock Room Comes to America [2022] (September 3, 2022 - ongoing)
    The Peacock Room Comes to America [2017-2019] (October 14, 2017 to January 2, 2019)
    The Peacock Room Comes to America [2011-2016] (April 9, 2011 to January 4, 2016)
    The Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics (December 9, 2001 to October 27, 2002)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture, Japan
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Vessel
  • On View

    Freer Gallery 12: The Peacock Room Comes to America
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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