Ritual water sprinkler (kundika)

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    8th century
  • Geography

    China
  • Material

    Stoneware with straw-colored glaze
  • Dimension

    H x W x D (overall): 26.3 x 13.8 x 13.3 cm (10 3/8 x 5 7/16 x 5 1/4 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1909.303
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1909.303

Object Details

  • Description

    Water ewer (kundika): globular body on spreading foot; tall slender neck, wide collar and small spout.
    Clay: hard off-white stoneware.
    Glaze: transparent straw-colored, finely crackled, stained.
  • Provenance

    To 1909
    Yung Pao Chai, Beijing, to 1909 [1]
    From 1909 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yung Pao Chai, Beijing, in 1909 [2]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
    Notes:
    [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2018, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. According to Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), pg. 18, Yung Pao Chai may have been Yongbaozhai, a shop established in the antique district of Liulichang in 1884.
    [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.
  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Guardians of the Law: Chinese Luohan Painting (December 1, 2003 to May 23, 2004)
    Luxury Arts of the Silk Route Empires (May 9, 1993 to January 28, 2007)
    Chinese Painting and Pottery (May 2, 1923 to March 22, 1943)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Yung Pao Chai (C.L. Freer source)
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
  • Origin

    China
  • Credit Line

    Gift of Charles Lang Freer
  • Type

    Vessel
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

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