Tea bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Tea-bowl: Temmoku shape, small, ovoidal, on low foot. Brass rim. Two characters in ink on the foot.

  Clay: hard, dense, grayish.

  Glaze: rich blackish-brown, finely speckled with light brown.

• Inscriptions

  Two characters in ink on the foot.

• Label

  Thick-walled Jian-ware tea bowls covered with a rich, dark glaze inspired widespread appreciation among almost all social groups in China during the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), including the emperor, scholar-officials, Buddhist monks, and ordinary people. A few Jian-ware tea bowls bear two words written on the base that mean "for presentation to the emperor." The writing of those words on this bowl by a semiliterate potter is unusual because the characters are only partially incised into the clay body and were completed by brushwriting.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Y. Fujita and Company, Kyoto, to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Y. Fujita and Company in 1911 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2157, 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

  Beyond Paper: Chinese Calligraphy on Objects (August 18, 1994 to July 3, 1997)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Y. Fujita and Company (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Fujian province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s, 1200s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Fujita

• Place

  China, Fujian province

• Topic

  Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Song dynasty (960 - 1279), Stoneware, Chinese Art, Ceramics, Jian ware

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)