Peach-shaped bowl with frog on rim

Object Details

• Description

  Hemispherical bowl in shape of peach with two small handles and blue, green and brown glazes. One handle is formed by a frog and the other by a branch and leaf. Where the frog appears to enter the bowl and where the branch is attached to the bowl, the sides are slightly concave. Trimmed foot forms short, visible footring on which the cup rests.

  Clay: Porcelain, footrim darkened on surface by use.

  Glaze: Pink (copper) pigment applied to exterior, around the rim and interior edge. Underglaze blue (cobalt) applied to exterior of bowl under frog. Blue appears blown onto surface of bowl and faint traces of blue dust detected on interior of bowl. Frog and leaf glazed with brown, pink, and green pigments. Colorless glaze applied over pigments on exterior and on interior and foot of bowl. Unglazed footrim.

  Decoration: The shape and decoration of this bowl are meant to recall that of a peach. The peach leaf and branch are its stem. The frog adds a whimsical and novel element.

  Signatures/Inscriptions: Paper label: "CMK 6"

• Marks

  Paper label: "CMK 6"

• Label

  Introduction of Western pigments in the 1870s enabled porcelain decorators to use colors like artists' pigments. They also developed such techniques as blowing on the pigments to create a soft, watercolor-like effect.

  This bowl 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 3 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

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

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s

• Name

  Kurtz, Isabel S., Kurtz, Charles M.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)