Ding ware bowl with incised floral decoration

Object Details

• Description

  Bowl: small, flaring; small foot.

  Clay: hard, dense, musical.

  Glaze: grayish cream-white, with brownish "tear stains"; rim unglazed.

  Decoration: chrysanthemum petal-lines incised in paste.

• Provenance

  To 1917

  Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1917 [1]

  From 1917 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1917 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2541, 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

  Black and White: Chinese Ceramics from the 10th-14th Centuries (December 18, 2004 to November 7, 2010)

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

  Chinese Calligraphy and Ceramics (April 18, 1977 to April 8, 1978)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

• Previous custodian or owner

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

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

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Ding kilns, 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

  1100s, 1000s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China, Ding kilns, Hebei province

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Porcelain, Art, Chinese Art, Ceramics, Ding ware, Northern Song dynasty (960 - 1127)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)