Jar

Object Details

• Description

  Clay: white stoneware.

  Glaze: colorless glaze on body; iron-oxide wash on base.

  Decoration: On neck, band of "treasure" lattice. On shoulder, three mythical beasts (baize) alternating with four-pronged clouds whose centers resemble the fungus of immortality, the space filled by smaller flame-like clouds and wish-granting jewels, some enclosed by flames and others not. On upper half of body,scrolling vine enclosing four open peony blossoms. On lower body, elongated lotus-panels enclosing pendant floral motifs. Above foot, band of pendant cloud-collar forms.

• Label

  This tall, slender jar with cobalt decoration of lionlike mythical creatures, peony scrolls, and lotus-petal panels was made at a kiln in the Red River delta of northern Vietnam. Its place of manufacture is confirmed by recent research that has identified the locations of several pottery centers in the delta. The ceramic products of those kilns, made with the fine white local clay, were traded to markets ranging from Japan to West Asia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; this jar was recovered in Indonesia.

• Provenance

  From at least 1970 to 1992

  Ken J.J. Baars, Surrey, England, acquired from a private collector in Southeast Asia, from at least 1970 [1]

  From 1992

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Ken J.J. Baars in 1992

  Notes:

  [1] Ken J.J. Baars acquired this object between 1966 and 1970, while he was working in Southeast Asia. The object was shipped to Holland in 1970 (see Curatorial Note 6 in the object record).

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Vietnam's Ceramics: Depth and Diversity (July 11, 2015 - July 10, 2016)

  Vietnamese Ceramics from the Red River Delta (July 10, 2005 to November 15, 2009)

  America Meets Asia at the Freer Gallery of Art (May 9, 1993 to June 2, 1998)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Ken J.J. Baars

• Origin

  Red River Delta kilns, Hai Duong province, Vietnam

• Credit Line

  Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of Asian Arts and the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer East Corridor: Looking Out, Looking In: The Art of Late Imperial China

• 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

  1400s

• Name

  Baars, Ken J.J.

• Place

  Hai Duong province, Vietnam, Red River Delta kilns

• Topic

  Art, Peony, Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1527), Stoneware, Southeast Asian Art, Ceramics, Flowers

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes