Incense box with design of geese and full moon

Object Details

• Artist

  False signature of Hon'ami Koetsu 本阿弥光悦 (1558-1637)

  False signature of Hon'ami Koho (1601-1682)

• Description

  Padded silk filler. Lid and base broken and repaired.

  Clay: soft, gray-white, reddish-brown on surface, with stone inclusions. Shigaraki-type stoneware.

  Glaze: thin, yellow. Ash glaze on lid, front and back, and in bottom of container.

  Decoration: in red-brown, under glaze; three flying geese (silhouetted against the full moon).

  Mark on the back of lid, and inscription on the base.

• Marks

  Mark: on back of lid, "painted by Koetsu" (Koetsu ga), written in iron pigment under glaze.

• Inscriptions

  Inscription: on base, incised, "Takagamine resident Kuchu" (Takagamine shu Kuchu).

• Provenance

  Ikeda Seisuke (1839-1900), Kyoto [1]

  To 1900

  Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1900 [2]

  From 1900 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1900 [3]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

  [2] See Original Pottery List, L. 792, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [3] See note 2.

  [4] 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

  Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons in Japanese Art (September 14, 1977 to April 8, 1978)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Ikeda Seisuke (1839-1900)

  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

  Container

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1900s, 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, Ikeda, Seisuke

• Place

  Kyoto, Japan, Kyoto prefecture

• Topic

  Art, Goose, Moon, Outer space, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Incense, Japanese Art, Meiji era (1868 - 1912)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Containers