Tea bowl with design of cherry blossoms

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    Early to mid-19th century
  • Geography

    Tokyo, Japan
  • Material

    Buff clay with white slip, iron pigment, and enamels under transparent lead glaze
  • Dimension

    H x Diam: 8.3 × 11.3 cm (3 1/4 × 4 7/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1906.284
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1906.284

Object Details

  • Artist

    Style of Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743)
  • Description

    Low cylindrical tea bowl. Gold lacquer repairs around entire rim.
    Clay: hard, dense earthenware.
    Glaze: lead glaze, scratched and pock-marked on outside, mostly lost on inside. Decoration: In brown, white, red, green and blue under glaze. Blossoming cherry trees and blue clouds.
  • Signatures

    "Kenzan" in iron brown pigment on base inside footrim.
  • Provenance

    To 1906
    Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1906 [1]
    From 1906 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1906 [2]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1487, 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

    The Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics (December 9, 2001 to October 27, 2002)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    Tokyo, Japan
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Vessel
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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