Bowl

Object Details

• Description

  Bowl, heavily potted, everted foliate rim, foot beveled inward; slightly recessed unglazed base with ring of black residue from tubular firing support. Defects; two lenticular shaped raised areas in paste, perhaps bubbles; one small gritty inclusion in glaze.

  Clay: grey porcelanous stoneware with brown speckles (impurities).

  Glaze: celadon, pale watery transparent pale blue-green, low gloss, medium crystalline crackle (according to March classification), pooled off-center in bottom, running thin on rim and center bottom. (The gray body showing through gives a grayish surface appearance), runs unevenly onto foot.

  Decoration: incised and carved. Triple lines define rim shape; cavetto has an upper decorated band and a plain zone; a deep double line surrounds the bottom which has a central floral medallion. Outside, multiple rings edge the cavetto curve, top and bottom. Deep vertical grooves give the appearance of fluting.

• Label

  The transparent, blue-green glaze on this dish characterizes celadon made at the major Thai kiln center of Sawankhalok (Si Satchanalai). Its form and decoration show awareness of Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) Longquan celadon. Exported in large quantities, such dishes competed with Longquan celadon in the markets in insular Southeast Asia during the fifteenth centuries.

• Provenance

  At least 1976-1977

  Bluett and Sons, Ltd. (active 1884-1992), London, England, method of acquisition unknown [1]

  From 1977

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Bluett and Sons, Ltd. [2]

  Notes:

  [1] See letter from Mrs. Judith Bathurst, Secretary, Bluett and Sons, Ltd., and Eleanor Radcliffe, Registrar, dated July 2, 1976, copy in object file. Object is described as “One Thai stoneware celadon bowl, 14th century.”

  Bluett and Sons, Ltd., commonly called Bluetts, was one of the most significant dealers of Chinese art in London during the 1920s and 1930s as well as in the postwar years. It was reputedly founded by Alfred Ernest Bluett (1853-1917) in 1884 and remained a family firm for three generations. Alfred’s sons Leonard Buckland Bluett (1884-1963) and Edgar Ernest Bluett (1881-1964) joined the firm in 1907 and 1909, respectively. Following their father’s death, Leonard and Edgar ran the business in a way that combined scholarship with connoisseurship. Roger Buckland Bluett (1925-2000), Leonard’s son, joined the firm after serving in the Navy during World War II and working for a time at Sotheby’s. Brian Morgan (born 1930) joined Bluetts as the only non‐family partner in 1954. Roger Bluett and Brian Morgan sold the business in 1988, and Bluett and Sons officially closed in 1992. Bluetts’ clients included most of the great collectors of the twentieth century, such as Sir Percival David, George Eumorfopoulos, Sir Alan Barlow, Avery Brundage, Paul and Eugene Bernat, and King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden, as well as many museum institutions around the world.

  [2] See object file for copy of Bluett and Sons, Ltd., London, invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, undated (ca. October 6, 1977), marked approved on December 9, 1976. On the same invoice, payment was approved on October 6, 1977.

  Research updated April 13, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Bluett and Sons, Ltd. (active 1884-1992)

• Origin

  Ban Ko Noi kilns, Si Satchanalai, Sukhothai province, Thailand

• 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

  1500s, 1400s

• Name

  Bluett and Sons, Ltd.

• Place

  Sukhothai province, Si Satchanalai, Ban Ko Noi kilns, Thailand

• Topic

  Art, Green glaze, Ayutthaya period (1351 - 1767), Stoneware, Southeast Asian Art, Ceramics, Flowers, Sawankhalok ware

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)