Longquan ware bowl, used in Japan as a tea bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Bowl, ovoidal; bold expanding foot. Gold lacquer repairs.

  Clay: hard, resonant, grayish.

  Glaze: cream-yellow, closely crackled in brown; warm brown discolorations.

  Decoration: lightly incised in paste.

• 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. 681, 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

  Chinese Ceramics for Tea in Japan (March 8 to September 14, 2014)

  Untitled Exhibition of Ceramics (March 31, 1994 to March 6, 1995)

  James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art (May 11, 1984 to December 5, 1984)

  Luminous Shadows (April 1, 1982 to June 21, 1982)

• Previous custodian or owner

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

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Longquan kilns, Zhejiang province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Longquan kilns, China, Zhejiang province

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Lacquer repair, Stoneware, Chinese Art, Lacquer, Longquan ware, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), Ceramics

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)