Guan ware bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Bowl: spreading ovoidal; small unglazed foot-rim.

  Clay: dense, hard, gray.

  Glaze: opaque delicate grayish-blue with medium-mesh crackle. Lustrous bluish gray-green with egg-shell texture; brown crackle; foot-rim brown.

• Label

  Guan ware pieces are usually covered with two to four layers of glaze, which create an unctuous, jadelike texture. The body of authentic Guan ware is often thinner than the glaze coating, but where the glaze thins at the edges, a "purple mouth and iron foot" show through because of the dark body, caused by the high iron content of the clay. Intentional crackle provides the sole ornamentation for this piece, which is representative of the restrained elegance of Song dynasty (960–1279) imperial taste.

• Provenance

  Robert W. deForest (1848-1931). [1]

  To 1932

  Yamanaka & Co., New York. [2]

  From 1932

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Yamanaka & Co., New York. [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Chinese Ceramics: 10th–13th Century (November 5, 2011 to January 3, 2015)

  Shades of Green and Blue: Chinese Celadon Ceramics (July 15, 1997 to September 7, 2004)

  Chinese Ceramics (March 15, 1982 to July 10, 1986)

  Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1980 to March 6, 1981)

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

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

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics, 1955 (September 19, 1955 to November 10, 1955)

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

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (May 6, 1946 to November 17, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics and Paintings (November 14, 1944 to May 3, 1946)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Ceramics, 1943 (March 22, 1943 to November 13, 1944)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Ceramics (March 14, 1931 to March 22, 1943)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Robert W. deForest (1848-1931)

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965)

• Origin

  Jiaotanxia kiln, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer Gallery 13: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s, 1200s

• Name

  deForest, Robert W., Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China, Jiaotanxia kiln, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province

• Topic

  Guan ware, Art, Stoneware, Chinese Art, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), Ceramics

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes