Vase

Flower vase (hana-ike) of irregular shape with two bulbs at base and very uneven cylinder above. Flat foot with some glaze. Two square knob handles. Lacquer repairs and much paint on body.
Clay: medium coarse, fired iron red where unglazed.
Glaze: uneven cream and grayish color, crackled; some brownish, very uneven.
Decoration: clay incised in some areas with both thick and thin lines.

Historical period(s)
Momoyama period, 1600-1615
Medium
White stoneware with multiple layers of ash glaze, iron glaze; gold lacquer repairs
Style
Iga ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 28.8 × 15.4 cm (11 5/16 × 6 1/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Mie prefecture, Iga kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1898.451
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vase (hanaire)

Keywords
Iga ware, Japan, lacquer repair, Momoyama period (1573 - 1615), stoneware
Provenance

To 1898
Yamanaka & Company, to 1898 [1]

From 1898 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1898 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 57, 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

Flower vase (hana-ike) of irregular shape with two bulbs at base and very uneven cylinder above. Flat foot with some glaze. Two square knob handles. Lacquer repairs and much paint on body.
Clay: medium coarse, fired iron red where unglazed.
Glaze: uneven cream and grayish color, crackled; some brownish, very uneven.
Decoration: clay incised in some areas with both thick and thin lines.

Label

This vase unites extremes of formality and rusticity in a manner typical of Iga tea wares. The form was inspired by antique Chinese celadon-glazed vases, yet the rough surface bears irregular ash-glaze deposits resulting from long exposure to the flames of a wood-fired kiln. The rich coloration of this vase attracted Charles Lang Freer, even though wood-fired stoneware did not become widely popular among Western collectors until recent decades.

Published References
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 194.
  • Title unknown. vol. 5, no. 4 New York, 1987. p. 36.
  • Louise Allison Cort, Bert Winther-Tamaki, Bruce Altshuler, Niimi Ryu. Isamu Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramics: A Close Embrace of the Earth. Washington and Berkeley. p. 110, fig. 3.5.
  • , no. 39 Lexington, Massachusetts, 2018. p. 157, fig. 37.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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