Chayang ware tea bowl in style of Jian ware

Object Details

• Description

  Tea bowl; Temmoku shape; slightly concave, straight-sided foot; metal band applied to outside of lip. Slight "nipple" inside and out in center. Slight repairs to inside of lip.

  Clay: smooth, light gray stoneware.

  Glaze: black streaked with brown, stopping irregularly short of foot, in slight welt and a run. Oily iridescence. Temmoku type iron glaze. "Hare's-fur" markings.

• Label

  Novel customs of tea preparation in China during the eighth through thirteenth centuries inspired a new type of tea bowl--wide enough so one could insert a bamboo whisk for whipping the powdered tea with hot water in the bowl, and heavy enough to retain the heat. Tea drinkers believed the beverage's white froth looked best in a bowl of a contrasting dark color. The most favored tea bowls were made at the Jian kilns in Fujian province, in south China. The great popularity of Jian ware led to fierce competition from other kilns that made imitations. This imitation uses white clay rather than the dark brown clay typical of Jian ware. Its base bears remains of a cipher written in red lacquer--probably a mark to show that it once belonged to a Buddhist temple or warrior in Japan, where Jian-style tea bowls were in demand for drinking Chinese-style tea.

• Provenance

  To 1902

  William Cleverly Alexander, London, England to 1902 [1]

  From 1902 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), given by William Cleverly Alexander, London, England in 1902 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] Object file.

  [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

  Black and White: Chinese Ceramics from the 10th-14th Centuries (December 18, 2004 to November 7, 2010)

  Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)

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

  Japanese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to January 17, 1980)

• Previous custodian or owner

  William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Chayang kiln, Nanping, Fujian 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

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1200s, 1300s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Alexander, William Cleverly

• Place

  Nanping, China, Fujian province, Chayang kiln

• Topic

  Art, Stoneware, Chinese Art, Brown and black glaze, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368), Ceramics, Chayang ware, Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Lacquer, Iridescence, Jian ware

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)