Leys jar

Object Details

• Description

  Vessel of spittoon shape; globular body, saucer-shaped mouth, low foot-rim with beveled edge.

  Clay: fine, white, translucent, resonant porcelain.

  Glaze: fine, clear, glossy, feldspathic; overall except edge of foot-rim; edge of mouth-rim brown.

  Decoration: painted in vivid underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze iron-red and gold. Inside mouth: a narrow border in underglaze blue, with segments hatched diagonally, alternately in opposing directions, cross hatched in gold over the glaze; two magnolia shrubs in underglaze blue outlined in gold and with buds, blossoms and leaves in iron-red and gold. Outside of mouth: three flower sprays (perhaps mei-hua) in underglaze blue, iron-red and gold overglaze; single blue line below mouth rim, double blue line defines neck. Body: two groups of sprays combining peony, lotus, chrysanthemum and other flowers in same technique and colors as above. Border at foot is quatrefoil blossom enclosed in blue lines. The whole design is well and surely executed. The overglaze colors are clear and in fine state of preservation.

• Label

  "Chinese Imari" of the early 18th century represents an attempt on the part of Chinese potters to recapture part of the European market won by Japanese Imari ware (^j^) by 1700. The decoration of this jar of the K'ang-hsi period combines underglaze blue and overglaze red and gold painting, a color scheme employed by Japanese Imari. Chinese pieces tend to be smaller than their Japanese counterparts; the drawing is more carefully finished and the blue is a softer, more delicate shade.

• Provenance

  To 1974

  Oriental Art, Benjamin J. Stein, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. [1]

  From 1974

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Oriental Art, Benjamin J. Stein, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

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

  A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980 (November 9, 1979 to May 22, 1980)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Oriental Art, Benjamin J. Stein

• Origin

  Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1720s, 1740s

• Name

  Oriental Art, Benjamin J. Stein

• Place

  China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen

• Topic

  Cobalt pigment, Porcelain, Art, Peony, Chrysanthemum, Chinese Imari ware, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Ceramics, Flowers, Lotus

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)