Handwarmer with design of vine scrolls

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    mid-late 18th century
  • Geography

    Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture, Japan
  • Material

    Buff clay; white slip, iron pigment under transparent glaze, and enamels over glaze
  • Dimension

    H x W: 12 x 13.7 cm (4 3/4 x 5 3/8 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1911.400a-b
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1911.400a-b

Object Details

  • Artist

    School of Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743)
    Ogata Ihachi (Kyoto Kenzan II) (active 1720-1760)
  • Description

    Clay: hard, dense, light-gray stoneware.
    Glaze: transparent; crackled. Lower interior wall and bottom unglazed.
    Decoration: in dull red, green, brown, yellow, blue, and gold, overglaze enamels.
    Contains signature on the base.
  • Signatures

    Kenzan, written in iron pigment on base.
    Kenzan, written in iron pigment on base.
  • Label

    The general proportions and metal fitting suggest the function of this vessel as a small handwarmer; it would have been filled with ash, with live embers set inside. The rectilinear form in general borrows from Kenzan-ware precedents, although this six-sided shape has a more distant ancestry in Ming dynasty incense burners; mass-produced connoisseur's manuals bestowed approval on the six-sided shape.
    The painted surface is a mix of elements taken from late-Ming, common-ware porcelains imported into Japan in the early seventeenth century. The cloud band at the top appears, for example, in the underglaze blue porcelains called undo-de in Japan. There is also a good dose of the Kenzanesque, such as the flatly rendered flowers.
  • Provenance

    1911
    Y. Fujita and Company, Kyoto 1911 [1]
    From 1911 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Y. Fujita and Company, Kyoto in 1911 [2]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2187, 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

    Y. Fujita and Company (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture, Japan
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Container
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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