Tea ceremony water jar, Asahi ware

Object Details

• Description

  Tea ceremony water jar (mizusashi [Jpn])

  Clay: hard, sonorous, gray: light brown where exposed. Thin and clear, appearing.

  Glaze: gray, warm-buff and brown, splashed with white, bluish-gray and faint mauve. Irregular drips of translucent white glaze on shoulder.

  Mark: Asahi, without frame, impressed on base to left.

• Marks

  Asahi, without frame, impressed on base to left

• Provenance

  To 1899

  Yamanaka & Company, 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. 116, 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

  Arts of Japan: Edo Aviary and Poetic License (February 2 to August 4, 2013)

  Poetic License: Making Old Worlds New (February 2 to August 4, 2013)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

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

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Uji, Kyoto prefecture, Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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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, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Uji, Japan, Kyoto prefecture

• Topic

  Water, Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Stoneware, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Asahi ware, Ceramics

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)