Incense burner

Object Details

• Description

  Incense-burner, globular, tripod with cylindrical neck and projecting rim. Wooden stand

  Clay: hard, fine, white.

  Glaze: faint grayish-green celadon.

• Label

  Chinese celadons were among the first examples of Far Eastern ceramics to be exported to Europe. Emphasis among Western collectors was on the earliest celadons, and Charles Lang Freer was especially pleased when, in China in 1911, he purchased this incense burner, which was described as dating from the Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1279). Several years later, while praising the smooth lustrous color of the glaze, Freer raised the possibility that the incense burner might have been made at a later period, proposing a tentative early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) date. There is no information in Gallery records regarding where the piece was said to have been made.

  The bold proportions of the incense burner and the summary modeling of the decorative elements supports a date considerably later than those suggested by Freer. Recent scholarship affirms that the incense burner was made in Zhejiang Province in the later years of the Qing dynasty.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Chin Tung, China, to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Chin Tung in 1911 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2118, 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

  Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Chin Tung (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Longquan (or possibly Jingdezhen), probably Zhejiang province (possibly Jiangxi), China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1910s, 1640s

• Name

  Tung, Chin, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  China, Jingdezhen, Zhejiang province, Longquan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Porcelain, Art, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Incense, Ceramics, Jingdezhen ware

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)