Jar, cut down in Japan for use as tea-ceremony water jar

Detail of a pattern
Image 1 of 1
Download Image IIIF

Terms of Use

Usage Conditions Apply

At A Glance

  • Period

    1279-1368
  • Geography

    Guangdong province, China
  • Material

    Stoneware with iron decoration under clear glaze; gold lacquer repairs
  • Dimension

    H x Diam: 20.4 × 18.3 cm (8 1/16 × 7 3/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1901.63
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1901.63

Object Details

  • Description

    Jar, cut down; tall wide-mouthed; deep contracting foot. Gold lacquer repairs.
    Clay: dense, soft, brownish.
    Glaze: lustrous gray, with brownish and reddish areas; crackled and pitted. Rim ground off and foot unglazed.
    Decoration: painted in under-glaze brown: two peony sprays.
    The glaze is not celadon, but was intended to be a clear porcelain-type glaze that was tinted gray by poor refinement of raw materials, with the areas of red resulting from uneven firing atmosphere. Under Glaze, deleted Celadon after Lustrous gray.
  • Provenance

    To 1901
    Siegfried Bing (1838-1905), Paris to 1901 [1]
    From 1901 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Siegfried Bing, Paris in 1901
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 942, 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
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    Guangdong province, China
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Vessel
  • 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