Body of incense burner, missing rim and foot, Cizhou ware

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    11th century
  • Geography

    Guantai kilns, Hebei province, China
  • Material

    Stoneware with white slip and pigment under colorless glaze
  • Dimension

    H x W: 14.6 x 14.9 cm (5 3/4 x 5 7/8 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1970.47
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1970.47

Object Details

  • Description

    Body of incense burner, missing rim and pedestal foot.
    Clay: buff stoneware. Glaze: outside only; transparent over white slip; varnish-like material coats unglazed mouth and runs inside.
    Decoration: incised and stamped in slip. Foliate scroll with 3 large blossoms (mallow?) on "ring-matted" ground. Ten-character inscription on panel. 西李大伯施/ 劉香爐 壹隻
  • Inscriptions

    Ten-character inscription on panel.
  • Provenance

    From at least 1916 to 1970
    Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) and Agnes E. Meyer (1887-1970), New York, NY, Washington, DC, and Mt. Kisco, NY, from at least 1916 [1]
    From 1970
    Freer Gallery of Art, bequeathed by Agnes E. Meyer [2]
    Notes:
    [1] Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer lent this fragment of an incense burner to the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition in 1916, see S. C Bosch Reitz, Catalogue of An Exhibition of Early Chinese Pottery and Sculpture, exh. cat. (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1916), cat. 111 (ill.).
    [2] The object is included in a codicil to Agnes E. Meyer’s will and testament, dated December 23, 1969, copy in object file.
  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Beyond Paper: Chinese Calligraphy on Objects (August 18, 1994 to July 3, 1997)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer ((1875-1959) and (1887-1970))
  • Origin

    Guantai kilns, Hebei province, China
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer
  • Type

    Vessel
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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