Yaozhou ware bowl with molded decoration

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    12th century
  • Geography

    Yaozhou kilns, Huangbao, Shaanxi province, China
  • Material

    Stoneware with celadon glaze
  • Dimension

    H x W: 4.6 x 14.6 cm (1 13/16 x 5 3/4 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1917.281
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1917.281

Object Details

  • Description

    Bowl: flaring conical form; low basal ring.
    Clay: hard, grayish-white, musical.
    Glaze: lustrous gray-green celadon with thin burnt-orange glaze on base inside footring.
    Decoration: molded in the paste of the interior; incised in bottom under glaze.
    See also F1917.512 .
  • Label

    These bowls (see also F1917.512) from the Yaozhou kilns bear identical molded designs. Molds helped the artisan economize on decoration by replacing hand carving. The damp bowl form was pressed against a reusable mold bearing a carved design. The burnt orange color inside the footrings of both bowls is a hallmark of Yaozhou pots. The lustrous green color required at least two layers of glaze, but inside the footrings only one thin layer was applied, and it turned orange during firing.
  • Provenance

    To 1917
    Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1917 [1]
    From 1917 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1917 [2]
    From 1920
    The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Pottery List, L. 2542, 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

    Shades of Green and Blue: Chinese Celadon Ceramics (July 15, 1997 to September 7, 2004)
    Chinese Painting and Pottery (May 2, 1923 to March 22, 1943)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    Yaozhou kilns, Huangbao, Shaanxi province, China
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Vessel
  • Restrictions and Rights

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