Tea ceremony water jar, unknown workshop

Detail of a pattern
Image 1 of 2
Download Image IIIF

Terms of Use

Creative Commons

At A Glance

  • Period

    late 18th-mid 19th century
  • Geography

    Japan
  • Material

    Stoneware with white slip and iron pigment under feldspathic glaze
  • Dimension

    H x Diam: 12.5 × 14 cm (4 15/16 × 5 1/2 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1899.11a-b
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1899.11a-b

Object Details

  • Description

    Water jar (mizusashi), rectangular rim and round foot, base recessed, unglazed.
    Clay: coarse gray stoneware.
    Glaze: transparent, grayish, crackled in places.
    Decoration: flower painted in iron brown and black under the glaze, and areas of heavily painted white slip, badly chipped.
  • Provenance

    To 1899
    Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1899 [1]
    From 1899 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1899 [2]]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 166, 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

    Tea Bowls in Bloom: Botanical Decoration on Tea Ceremony Ceramics (February 3 to July 15, 2007)
    Garden Potteries and Official Kilns: Clan-Sponsored Ceramics in the Edo Period (January 16, 1986 to November 3, 1986)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    Japan
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Vessel
  • Restrictions and Rights

    CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

    This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

    The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring