Gourd-shaped sake bottle

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    1780-1820
  • Geography

    Nagayo, Nagasaki prefecture, Japan
  • Material

    Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze, and iron glaze
  • Dimension

    H x Diam: 20.2 × 10.9 cm (7 15/16 × 4 5/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1902.59
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1902.59

Object Details

  • Description

    Sake Bottle, gourd shaped with bulbous neck.
    Clay: hard, resonant, gray
    Glaze: brilliant tortoise-shell, in rich red-brown, splashed with yellow; gray and greenish-black on upper part.
    Decoration: impure cobalt, under glaze on rim of neck.
  • Provenance

    To 1902
    Samuel Colman (1832-1920), New York, NY, and Newport, RI, to 1902 [1]
    From 1902 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased at the sale of the Samuel Colman Collection, American Art Association, New York, March 19-22, 1902 [2]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1124, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Samuel Colman was collecting Asian objects by at least 1880 (see Curatorial Remark 18, Louise Cort, April 20, 2007, in the object record).
    [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

    Japanese Ceramics from Past to Present (February 18, 1983 to February 16, 1984)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Samuel Colman (1832-1920)
    American Art Association (established 1883) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    Nagayo, Nagasaki prefecture, Japan
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Vessel
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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