Figure of Otafuku

Object Details

• Artist

  Koemon

• Description

  Statuette. Otafuku, standing.

  Clay: dense, grayish. Blackened by soot on surface.

  Glaze: face - unglazed; figure - yellow, red, black, pink, green, and white. Crinkled surface; crevices darkened with soot.

  Mark: impressed on lower back of robe.

• Marks

  Mark: Tofukuji monzen Koemon zo impressed in unglazed area on lower back of robe.

• Provenance

  To 1905

  Siegfried Bing (1838-1905), Paris, to 1905 [1]

  From 1905 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Siegfried Bing in 1905 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1408, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [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

  Selections from the Japanese Collection (March 22 to November 29, 1999)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Fushimi, Kyoto, Kyoto-fu, Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• 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

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1900s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Bing, Siegfried, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan, Kyoto-fu

• Topic

  Fushimi ware, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Stoneware, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Ceramics, Meiji era (1868 - 1912)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Sculpture