Jar

Object Details

• Description

  Jar, ovoidal; deep recessed foot. Carved wood cover.

  Clay: hard, dense, grayish. Coarse porcelain.

  Glaze: originally white and gray-white with brown discoloration; crackled. Neck, footrim and base unglazed.

  Decoration: in cobalt blue, under glaze. Floral vine scrolls with chrysanthemum like flowers.

  The footrim appears to have been trimmed sometime after firing, leaving a jagged edge in the glaze. The entire vessel appears to have been stained with a dark substance, darkening the base clay and the crackle in the glaze. The interior is glazed.

• Label

  The jar's rim formation shows that it was made in imitation of Chinese pewter containers for storing green leaf tea and fitted with a flat inner lid and cylindrical outer lid that would have just covered the unglazed area of the neck. By the time Freer acquired the jar, the lost double lid had been replaced with a carved wooden cover of the sort used on Chinese ginger jars displayed in Western drawing rooms at the turn of the century.

• Provenance

  To 1902

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1902 [1]

  From 1902 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1902 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1212, 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

  The Peacock Room Comes to America [2022] (September 3, 2022 - ongoing)

  The Peacock Room Comes to America [2017-2019] (October 14, 2017 to January 2, 2019)

  The Peacock Room Comes to America [2011-2016] (April 9, 2011 to January 4, 2016)

  Boxed In: Japanese Ceramics and Their Storage Boxes (September 23, 1982 to February 17, 1983)

• Previous custodian or owner

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

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Nansheng kilns, Zhangzhou city, Fujian province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer Gallery 12: The Peacock Room Comes to America

• 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

  1640s, 1550s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Nansheng kilns, China, Fujian province, Zhangzhou city

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Porcelain, Art, Chinese Art, Ceramics, Flowers, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Zhangzhou ware

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes