Bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Bowl: shallow with thickened rim and low wide foot with cut-out center.

  Clay: good quality porcelain, slightly off-white.

  Glaze: transparent, faintly bluish where thick, some small bubbles; much scratched inside; none on foot .

  In the description of the glaze, "applied over a pure white slip" was eliminated.

• Label

  The earliest description of Chinese pottery in Arabic records refers to a gift, presented to the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (reigned 786-809), consisting of "twenty pieces of imperial China-ware, including bowls, cups and half-cups, the like of which had never been seen at a Caliph's court before." Sent from a governor in northeastern Iran, the gift included some exceptional items that were probably acquired via the Central Asian land route. A decade or so later, larger shipments of Chinese ceramics, similar to the objects seen here, arrived by sea and became known beyond court circles. Increased demand for these imports, especially the small bowls, inspired Iraqi potters to create imitations for a wider market.

• Provenance

  To 1914

  Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1914 [1]

  From 1914 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1914 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2415, 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

  Iraq and China: Ceramics, Trade, and Innovation (December 4, 2004 to July 17, 2005)

  Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)

• Previous custodian or owner

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

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Hebei 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

  900s, 800s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China, Hebei province

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Porcelain, Art, Chinese Art, Tang dynasty (618 - 907), Ceramics, Ding ware, Xing ware

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)