Oil bottle

Object Details

• Description

  Oil bottle: form flattened to an extreme degree with acute, but rounded, angle at circumference; dish mouth on contracted neck; very low narrow foot; three small silica spur marks on base.

  Clay: porcellanous, light gray.

  Glaze: gray-green celadon; crackled; uneven flow; coverage includes foot and base; defective (immature) on one side lower half with perhaps some surface deterioration from burial.

  Decoration: incised and inlaid in black and white clays (slip) under the glaze; five lunettes, each containing flower head and leaf motif, and a small blossoms in each "spandrel."

• Provenance

  To 1917

  Yamanaka & Company, to 1917 [1]

  From 1917 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company 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. 2550, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

  [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

  Cranes and Clouds: The Korean Art of Ceramic Inlay (November 5, 2011 to January 3, 2016)

  Korean Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to October 13, 1978)

  Korean Art (November 2, 1959 to November 22, 1971)

  Untitled Exhibition, Korean Art, 1958 (July 10, 1958 to April 15, 1959)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 16 (February 25, 1956 to July 11, 1958)

  Untitled Exhibition, Korean Ceramics with Korean and Japanese Paintings (February 15, 1955 to April 13, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, East Asian Ceramics and Paintings, East Corridor (January 8, 1947 to ---)

• Previous custodian or owner

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

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Gangjin or Buan kilns, Jeolla-do province, Korea

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1200s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Gangjin, Jeolla-do province, Buan kilns, Korea

• Topic

  Goryeo period (918 - 1392), Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Inlay (process), Green glaze, Stoneware, Korean Art, Ceramics, Flowers

• Culture

  Koreans

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)