Vase

Object Details

• Description

  Inverted pyriform-shaped (pear-shaped) vase with narrow mouth, averted lip and trumpet-shaped neck. Body tapers down into tall flared stem and flat foot trimmed to form narrow footring.

  Clay: Porcelain, footrim slightly chipped and darkened on surface by use.

  Glaze: Interior, exterior and foot covered with nearly colorless glaze with slight blue-grey tint. Copper red appears around lip and under rim on exterior. Red pigment appears to be dusted, somewhat unevenly, onto body around widest diameter, shading down onto stem. Unglazed footrim.

  Decoration: None.

  Mark: None.

  Signatures/Inscriptions: Two paper labels on base: "CMK 2" and "2".

• Marks

  Two paper labels on base: "CMK 2" and "2

• Label

  This unsigned vase is modeled after a Chinese Kangxi period (1662-1722) imperial porcelain bearing the type of pink-toned, copper-based glaze called peach bloom. The coloration of this vase, achieved with Western pigments, closely resembles that of the works of Miyagawa Kozan.

  This vase was part of a collection formed by Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909), during the period when he served as assistant art director for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and art director for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Centennial International Exposition in St. Louis. Kurtz's collecting focused on porcelain with highly colored glazed. Along with these pieces by prominent Japanese potters, Kurtz acquired vases of similar shapes and colors from American and European factories. Kurtz's collection, representative of a broad popular interest in Japanese art in the late nineteenth century, also reflects the growing internationalism in the decoration of ceramics resulting from rapid exchange of information and technology facilitated by the international fairs.

• Provenance

  To ?

  Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909). [1]

  To 1991

  Isabel S. Kurtz (1901-1991). [2]

  From 1991

  Freer Gallery of Art, bequest of Isabel S. Kurtz (1901-1991). [3]

  Notes:

  [1] Ms. Isabel Kurtz bequeathed the group of Asian ceramics, F1991.19-.44, to the Freer Gallery of Art.

  These objects had been collected by her father, Charles M. Kurtz, who was a friend of Charles Freer.

  Also see Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.

  [2] See note 1. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

  [3] See note 2.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Japanese Art of the Meiji Era (September 20, 1997 to April 26, 1998)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909)

  Isabel S. Kurtz (1901-1991)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Bequest of Isabel S. Kurtz

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s

• Name

  Kurtz, Isabel S., Kurtz, Charles M.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Porcelain, Art, Japanese Art, Ceramics, Meiji era (1868 - 1912)

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)