Tea bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Bowl, deep conical; bold retired foot. Five spur-marks inside.

  Clay: medium-hard, light gray.

  Glaze: a brilliant, transparent glaze over blended cream and pale green; crackled.

  Spurs: five oval refractory-clay spurs on foot rim, five in bottom.

• Label

  This bowl was probably made to order at a kiln in southeastern Korea to be exported to Japan for use as a tea bowl. It represents the earliest phase of such ordering as identified by archaeological research. Its shape is that of a tea bowl used in Japan, not of a Korean tableware bowl converted to use as a tea bowl.

• 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] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Pottery List, L. 1134, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Samuel Colman was collecting Asian objects by at least 1880 (see Curatorial Remark 11, 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

  An Invitation to Tea (November 9, 1996 to April 26, 1998)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Samuel Colman (1832-1920)

  American Art Association (established 1883) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Jinju, Western Gyeongsangnam-do province, Korea

• 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.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1590s, 1550s

• Name

  American Art Association, Freer, Charles Lang, Colman, Samuel

• Place

  Western Gyeongsangnam-do province, Jinju, Korea

• Topic

  Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Porcelain, Art, Joseon period (1392 - 1910), Pale blue glaze, Korean Art, Ceramics

• Culture

  Koreans

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)