Tea bowl (sherd)

Object Details

• Description

  Foot and wall of tea bowl with clay firing pad adhering to foot; overfired, warped; shiny glaze, black fading to brown.

• Provenance

  1930s-1961

  James Marshall Plumer (1899-1960) and Caroline Plumer (1901-1995), Ann Arbor, MI collected this shard from Shuiji Kiln Site 1 when living in China before World War II [1]

  1960-May 1961

  Caroline Plumer, Ann Arbor, MI assumed full ownership upon her husband's death in June 1960 [2]

  From May 1961

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Caroline Plumer [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See inventory card from the Freer Gallery of Art Study Collection, copy in object file. The Plumers inventoried this object as T I 80.

  [2] Mr. Plumer died on June 15, 1960. Mrs. Plumer dispersed of her husband's collection the following year, making several gifts and sales to museums and private collectors.

  [3] Ms. Plumer presented this object, along with 24 other shards of pottery, to the Freer Gallery of Art. See Curatorial Remark 3 in the object record.

• Collection

  Freer Study Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  James Marshall Plumer (1899-1960)

  Caroline L. Plumer (1901-1995)

• Origin

  Shuiji kiln site I, Shuiji, Fujian province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Caroline Plumer

• 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

  1100s, 1200s

• Name

  Plumer, Caroline L., Plumer, James Marshall

• Place

  Shuiji kiln site I, China, Fujian province, Shuiji

• Topic

  Tea, Art, Chinese Art, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), Ceramics, Northern Song dynasty (960 - 1127), Jian ware

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)