Covered box with design of paired phoenixes

Object Details

• Description

  Clay: hard, white.

  Glaze: pale, greenish blue.

  Decoration: stamped, in relief.

  Contains sticker on the base.

• Marks

  Contains dealer sticker on the base.

• Label

  During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, kilns at Jingdezhen produced large quantities of covered boxes for sale in China and Southeast Asia. The boxes, which functioned as cosmetic containers, usually bear a molded bird or floral design. The lid of this box is decorated with a relief design of two phoenixes flying toward each other. Their heads nearly touch at the center of the box and their resplendent, curled tail feathers spread out along the rim of the lid. A pair of phoenixes is a common marriage symbol, and boxes like this may have been used as wedding gifts.

• Provenance

  To 1929

  Yamanaka & Co., Washington, DC [1]

  From 1929

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Yamanaka & Co., Washington, DC in April 1929 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

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

  Chinese Painting and Pottery (May 2, 1923 to March 22, 1943)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965)

• Origin

  Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Container

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s, 1200s

• Name

  Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen

• Topic

  Porcelain, Art, Song dynasty (960 - 1279), Wedding, Qingbai ware, Chinese Art, Phoenix, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), Ceramics

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Containers