Tea bowl, copy of “Kaga Koetsu,” unknown Raku ware workshop

Tea bowl. Gold lacquer repairs.
Clay: soft, sonorous. Raku type, white clay.
Glaze: brilliant orange-red slip, unpainted. Area of greenish-white, clear glaze with overflow of gray-white, crackled.

Maker(s)
Artist: Style of Hon'ami Kōetsu 本阿弥光悦 (1558-1637)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, 19th century
Medium
Earthenware with red slip brushed under colorless lead glaze and gold lacquer repair
Style
Raku ware, unknown workshop
Dimensions
H x Diam: 9.6 × 12.9 cm (3 3/4 × 5 1/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Kyoto prefecture, Kyoto
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1897.38
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea bowl

Keywords
copy, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, lacquer repair, Raku ware, tea
Provenance

To 1897
Yamanaka & Company, to 1897 [1]

From 1897 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1897 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 483, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917 - 1965

Description

Tea bowl. Gold lacquer repairs.
Clay: soft, sonorous. Raku type, white clay.
Glaze: brilliant orange-red slip, unpainted. Area of greenish-white, clear glaze with overflow of gray-white, crackled.

Label

This bowl is heavy for its size and hesitantly carved. These features suggest that it was made by an inexperienced potter. A thick curtain of whitish glaze masks the red slip. The exaggerated undulations of the rim are a later convention not found in Koetsu's own bowls.

Published References
  • Helen Nebeker Tomlinson. West Meets East: Charles L. Freer Trailblazing Asian Art Collector. Herndon, Virginia. Insert p. 9.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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