Lidded bowl with design of iris

Object Details

• Artist

  Ogata Ihachi (Kyoto Kenzan II) (active 1720-1760)

• Description

  Lidded bowl (futajawan)

  Clay: earthenware; dense, sonorous, grayish.

  Glaze: rich cream, closely crackled; stained with fawn. Lead glaze.

  Decoration: in green and blue enamels, under glaze. Design of iris.

  One signature on bowl, one signature on lid.

• Signatures

  On bowl: Kenzan. On lid: Based on painting by Korin; Kenzan (with ji cipher).

• Label

  This is a lidded bowl for serving steamed food; the lid is designed so that steam condensing on its underside drips out of the vessel rather than into it. True to the inscription, the decoration is based on a Korin design, once again his interpretation of the popular "eight bridges" episode in the ninth chapter of the classical Tales of Ise.

  The execution clearly relates to F1896.56, and they are probably part of the same batch.

• Provenance

  To 1899

  Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1899 [1]

  From 1899 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1899 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 286, 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

  Rinpa: Creativity Across Time and Space (October 1, 2022 to April 2, 2023)

  Bold and Beautiful: Rinpa in Japanese Art (June 28, 2015 to January 3, 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

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• 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, Kyoto prefecture

• Topic

  Iris, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Tales of Ise, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Ceramics

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)