Tomb jar

Object Details

• Description

  Funeral vase: tall, slender, on hollowed, spreading feet. Wood stand.

  Clay: soft, light-weight, gray-white.

  Glaze: thin, transparent green celadon; close brown crackle. Areas of stain and of over-baked wrinkled glaze.

  Decoration: hieratic figures and a dragon supporting the sun-disk - in applied relief, under glaze.

• Inscriptions

  The following information was carved on the box in which this object arrived:

  Inscription on front of base: ku fo she li t'a [CHN].

  Inscription on front of base: ku fo she li t'a [CHN].

• Provenance

  To 1903

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1903 [1]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1903 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. Also see Original Pottery List, L. 1268, 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)

  America Meets Asia at the Freer Gallery of Art (May 9, 1993 to June 2, 1998)

• Previous custodian or owner

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

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Jiangxi 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

  1200s, 1300s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China, Jiangxi province

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Porcelain, Art, Qingbai ware, Chinese Art, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), Funerary, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368), Ceramics, Dragon

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes