Jian ware tea bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Tea-bowl: deep, ovoidal, on low solid foot; silver rim. Lacquer stand.

  Clay: hard, dark.

  Glaze: rich black, finely streaked with golden brown; brown in upper part; bluish iridescence.

• Provenance

  To 1913

  Yamanaka and Company, New York to 1913 [1]

  From 1913 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka and Company, New York, in 1913 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2373, Freer Galley 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

  Chinese Ceramics for Tea in Japan (March 8 to September 14, 2014)

  Early Chinese Pottery and Scultpure, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1916 (March 6 to October 15, 1916)

  Untitled Exhibition, The Japan Society, February 1914 (February 1914)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Jian kilns, Shuiji, Fujian province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• 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

  1100s, 1200s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Jian kilns, China, Fujian province, Shuiji

• Topic

  Tea, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Song dynasty (960 - 1279), Stoneware, Chinese Art, Brown and black glaze, Iridescence, Ceramics, Jian ware

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)