Jar with two loop handles

Object Details

• Description

  Jar (kuan). Ovoidal; two loop handles.

  Clay: hard, dense, grayish; coarsely modelled. Surface orange to metallic brown.

  Glaze: brilliant, olive splashed with blue, over white slip; crackled.

• Label

  The sturdy, doubled loop handles on this jar characterize a family of storage jars made in north China. The glaze reaches to midbody and does not completely cover a coating of white slip (liquid clay). The slip, which was applied over the dark clay body to show the glaze color more effectively, shows through where the glaze is uneven.

• Provenance

  To 1910

  Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1910 [1]

  From 1910 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1910 [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. 2009, 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.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Shades of Green and Blue: Chinese Celadon Ceramics (July 15, 1997 to September 7, 2004)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (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

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  600s, 700s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Yamanaka and Co.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Sui dynasty (581 - 618), Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Stoneware, Chinese Art, Tang dynasty (618 - 907), Ceramics

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)