Tea bowl

Tea-bowl: Temmoku shape, small, ovoidal, on low foot. Brass rim. Two characters in ink on the foot.
Clay: hard, dense, grayish.
Glaze: rich blackish-brown, finely speckled with light brown.

Historical period(s)
Northern Song or Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th century
Medium
Stoneware with iron glaze; metal rim
Style
Jian ware
Dimensions
H x W: 5.1 x 11 cm (2 x 4 5/16 in)
Geography
China, Fujian province
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1911.370
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea bowl

Keywords
China, Jian ware, Song dynasty (960 - 1279), stoneware, tea
Provenance

To 1911
Y. Fujita and Company, Kyoto, to 1911 [1]

From 1911 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Y. Fujita and Company in 1911 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2157, 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)

Y. Fujita and Company (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

Tea-bowl: Temmoku shape, small, ovoidal, on low foot. Brass rim. Two characters in ink on the foot.
Clay: hard, dense, grayish.
Glaze: rich blackish-brown, finely speckled with light brown.

Inscription(s)

Two characters in ink on the foot.

Label

Thick-walled Jian-ware tea bowls covered with a rich, dark glaze inspired widespread appreciation among almost all social groups in China during the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), including the emperor, scholar-officials, Buddhist monks, and ordinary people. A few Jian-ware tea bowls bear two words written on the base that mean "for presentation to the emperor." The writing of those words on this bowl by a semiliterate potter is unusual because the characters are only partially incised into the clay body and were completed by brushwriting.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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