Ewer

Object Details

• Description

  Negoro ware; red over black lacquer; foliate lid.

• Inscriptions

  Possible inscription incised on the inner side of the lid (see object file for 1967 H. P. Stern note)

• Provenance

  ?-1965

  Reportedly owned by Ryō Hosomi (1901-1978), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1965-1967

  Yamanaka and Co., Osaka, Japan, likely acquired from Ryō Hosomi, Osaka, Japan [2]

  From 1967

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Yamanaka and Co., Osaka, Japan [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Kokoan Hosomi “Negoro no bi” [catalog] (Osaka, Naniwa sha, 1967) p. 34 pl. 28. Additionally, see object file for copy of H. P. Stern letter to Ryō Hosomi, dated November 26, 1965. Stern wrote to thank Hosomi for his hospitality during Stern’s trip to Japan late 1964-1965. At the conclusion of the letter, Stern notes that two objects among Hosomi’s collection caught his eye, “one is the fine Negoro vessel with the spout and cover”. Ryō Hosomi (1901-1978), also known as Ryōichi Hosomi or Kokoan Hosomi, was a textiles industrialist in Japan and a collector of Asian art. He amassed a collection of more than 1,000 objects which span nearly 10,000 years of Japanese history and culture. In 1998, the Hosomi Art Foundation opened the Hosomi Museum in Kyoto to present this collection to the public.

  [2] See object file for copy of U. S. Treasury Special Customs Invoice, Section 1.2, where the object is stated as having been obtained in Osaka on September 23, 1965, by Yamanaka and Co., before shipping to the Freer Gallery of Art on January 29, 1966. See also copy of Freer Gallery of Art vault card V33.66, showing that the object arrived at the Freer via airfreight from Yamanaka and Co. of Tokyo, Japan, on February 11, 1966. The object is described as “1 Japanese lacquer, Momoyama, 17th century, Negoro pitcher, red, foliate lid.”

  [3] See object file for copy of Yamanaka and Co. invoice to the Freer Gallery of Art, dated February 5, 1967, and approved by the Secretary June 15, 1966.

  Research updated August 7, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Words of Wisdom: Buddhist Calligraphy from Japan (April 1, 2023 to February 25, 2024)

  Japanese Art (November 7, 1986 to July 19, 1988)

  Japanese and Chinese Lacquer (September 22, 1982 to June 30, 1983)

  Japanese Lacquer (18 May 1980 to 15 June 1980)

  Japanese Lacquer (April 16, 1979 to October 8, 1980)

  Chinese and Japanese Art--Lacquer and Paintings (August 18, 1967 to October 14, 1969)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Hosomi Ryoichi (1901-1978)

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1500s, 1600s

• Name

  Hosomi, Ryoichi, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), Japanese Art, Lacquer, Negoro ware

• Culture

  Buddhists, Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)