Tea bowl with design of cranes and chrysanthemums

Object Details

• Artist

  Possibly by Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743)

  Narutaki workshop (active 1699-1712) or contemporary Kyoto workshop

• Description

  Clay: buff stoneware.

  Glaze: transparent, crackled.

  Decoration: white slip and cobalt and iron pigments, under glaze.

  Signature.

• Signatures

  Kenzan

• Label

  The combination of crane and chrysanthemum has two possible but interrelated nuances. First, it is an auspicious combination, since both bird and flower symbolize longevity. Second, the painting may refer to poems of birds and flowers of the twelve months by Kamakura period poet Fujiwara Teika, demonstrated as a favorite theme in Kenzan ware; the crane and chrysanthemum pairing are used for the tenth month.

• Provenance

  To 1899

  S. Eida, to 1899 [1]

  From 1899 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from S. Eida in 1899 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 340, 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

  Feathered Ink (August 27, 2022 to February 20, 2023)

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

  The Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics (December 9, 2001 to October 27, 2002)

• Previous custodian or owner

  S. Eida (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

  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, Eida, S.

• Place

  Kyoto, Japan, Kyoto prefecture

• Topic

  Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chrysanthemum, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Ceramics, Crane

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)