Kenzan-style ember pot with design of camellia

Clay: stoneware; dense, resonant.
Glaze: transparent, appearing deep cream, finely crackled in brown.
Decoration: in iron and cobalt, appearing gray and olive-brown, under glaze. Camellia.
Inscription.

Maker(s)
Artist: Style of Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743) Kyoto workshop, Kenzan style
Historical period(s)
Edo period, mid to late 18th century
Medium
Buff clay; iron and cobalt pigments under transparent glaze
Dimensions
H x W: 13.1 x 10.3 cm (5 3/16 x 4 1/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Kyoto prefecture, Kyoto
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1901.160
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Ember pot (hiire)

Keywords
camellia, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan
Provenance

To 1901
Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1901 [1]

From 1901 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1901 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Pottery List, L. 1064, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[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
Bunkio Matsuki (C.L. Freer source) 1867-1940

Description

Clay: stoneware; dense, resonant.
Glaze: transparent, appearing deep cream, finely crackled in brown.
Decoration: in iron and cobalt, appearing gray and olive-brown, under glaze. Camellia.
Inscription.

Inscription(s)

Inscription: "All made up with palace powder, blossoms in the snow" (Qu You 瞿佑, 1341-1427)

Published References
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 203.
  • Warren E. Cox. The Book of Pottery and Porcelain. 2 vols., New York. vol. 1: p. 236, fig. 428.
  • Richard L. Wilson. The Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics. Exh. cat. Washington. cat. 13, p. 74.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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