Vase with blossoming prunus and cracked ice pattern

Object Details

• Description

  Classic "arrow-shaped" (peach-shaped) vase with tall, cylindrical neck and bulbous-shaped body on flat foot decorated with blossoming prunus and cracked-ice pattern in cobalt glaze. Foot trimmed to form slight footring.

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

  Glaze: Blue (cobalt) pigment applied to exterior under colorless glaze to outline prunus design and provide background wash. Colorless glaze applied to interior. Unglazed foot and footrim.

  Decoration: Blossoming prunus and cracked-ice ground in imitation of Chinese wares. The prunus design was drawn onto the bottle first and then a blue background wash was added. The blue was then divided by lines to suggest the cracked ice of Spring. A thin white band runs around the exterior of the vase at its base to suggest a raised foot.

  Signatures/Inscriptions: None

• Label

  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

• 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

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s

• Name

  Kurtz, Isabel S., Kurtz, Charles M.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)