Kenzan-style Red Raku water jar with design of maple leaves and gabions

Object Details

• Artist

  Imitation of Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743)

  Kyoto workshop

• Description

  Clay: pinkish earthenware.

  Glaze: colorless, transparent lead glaze.

  Decoration: white slip and iron pigment under glaze.

• Signatures

  Inscription and mark, written on base: painting by Hokyo Korin, copied by Kenzan Shinsei

• Provenance

  To 1900

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1900 [1]

  From 1900 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1900 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 838, 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

  Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea (December 9, 2023 - ongoing)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (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 20a: Knotted Clay: Raku Ceramics and Tea

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. 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

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s, 1860s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Kyoto, Japan, Kyoto prefecture

• Topic

  Water, Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Japanese Art, Ceramics, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), Raku ware

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes