Tea caddy, named Karaneko (Chinese cat)

Object Details

• Artist

  Style of Nonomura Ninsei (active ca. 1646-77)

• Description

  Clay: dense, white. Orange flush at edge of glaze.

  Glaze: white, semi-opaque (rice-straw ash); crackled

  Broad splash of seal-brown

  Decoration: single incised line around waist of jar

• 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. 797, 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

  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)

  Rusticity Refined: Kyoto Ceramics by Ninsei (March 19 to October 23, 2005)

  Tea in the Floating World (December 8, 2002 to May 26, 2003)

• 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

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  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

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

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)