Tea bowl, possibly Hagi ware

Bowl, deep, ovoidal, on high foot.
Clay: hard, dense, dark brown
Glaze: clear glaze over white slip brushed on irregularly; crackled. Glaze roughened, blistered and chipped. Mostly lost from foot.

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 18th century
Medium
Stoneware with white slip under clear ash glaze
Style
Hagi type ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 9.2 × 14.7 cm (3 5/8 × 5 13/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Yamaguchi prefecture, Hagi
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1897.82
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea bowl (chawan)

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), Hagi ware, Japan, stoneware, tea, white slip
Provenance

Prince of Kaga Collection, Kanazawa, Japan [1]

To 1897
Yamanaka & Company, to 1897 [2]

From 1897 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1897 [3]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]

Notes:

[1] This is one of ten tea bowls (F1897.81 - F1897.90) acquired as a group from the former collection of the "Prince of Kaga." presumably the last head of the Maeda house, the daimyo family that had served as feudal lords of Kaga Province (now part of Ishikawa prefecture, centering around the castle town of Kanazawa) since the beginning of the 17th century.

[2] See Original Pottery List, L. 684, 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.

[3] See note 2.

[4] 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)

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

Description

Bowl, deep, ovoidal, on high foot.
Clay: hard, dense, dark brown
Glaze: clear glaze over white slip brushed on irregularly; crackled. Glaze roughened, blistered and chipped. Mostly lost from foot.

Published References
  • Ann Yonemura. A Pioneer Collection of Korean Art. vol. 118, no. 258 London, August 1983. p. 150.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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