Vase

Object Details

• Artist

  Mary Chase Perry Stratton (1867-1961)

• Description

  Vase, tall

  Clay: dense, fairly soft

  Glaze: deep blue, mottled with gray and turquoise green; golden iridescence.

• Marks

  - Impressed in clay, "Pewabic, Detroit"

  - Impressed in clay, "Pewabic, Detroit"

• Inscriptions

  - Round sticker affixed to base of vessel, "Pewabic Detroit" printed in black ink, and "6537" written in pencil

  - Round sticker affixed to base of vessel, "Pewabic Detroit" printed in black ink, and "6537" written in pencil

• Label

  Made from 1903 until 1965, the Pewabic pottery of Detroit was most noted for iridescent glazes. These colorful hues are created when metallic salts, such as copper oxides, are spread on the pottery before its last firing. Many well-known art-potters and glassmakers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries created iridescent glazes inspired by ceramic lusterwares from the Near East. The potters, then, shared some of the same sources of inspiration as artists like James McNeill Whistler, and Dwight Tryon.

• Provenance

  1917-1920

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI [1]

  1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] See receipt from Pewabic Pottery to Charles Lang Freer, August 2, 1917, Box 123, Folder 8, Charles Lang Freer Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Author M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, copy in object file.

  [2] The original deed of Charles Lang Free's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

  Research Completed on July 29, 2022

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Freer’s Global Network: Artists, Collectors, and Dealers (October 15, 2022 - ongoing)

  Dewing’s Poetic World (November 27, 2019 to May 29, 2022)

  Art for Art's Sake (July 23, 1997 to January 24, 2008)

  James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art (May 11, 1984 to December 5, 1984)

  American Painting: To Dream of Fair Women (September 24, 1982 to February 29, 1984)

  Pewabic Pottery (November 20, 1979 to March 5, 1981)

  American Paintings: Abbott Handerson Thayer 1849-1921 (December 11, 1976 to April 18, 1977)

  The Peacock Room (May 2, 1923 to February 21, 2011)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Pewabic Pottery (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Detroit, Michigan, United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer Gallery 09: Freer’s Global Network

• 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

  1910s, 1900s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Pewabic Pottery

• Place

  Detroit, United States, Michigan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art, Pottery, Iridescence, Ceramics, Pewabic ware

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes