Jar

Jar: ovoid, short straight neck, probably had a cover. Arita ware, export type.
Clay: white porcelain, some slight orange tint of oxidization at glaze margins.
Glaze: clear porcelain glaze, medium gloss, all over except top edge, inside mouth and edge of foot-rim.
Decoration: painted in underglaze cobalt blue with figures in landscape. Neck: band of pointed overlapping petals. Main zone: Chinese figures, man in tricorne headdress with banner (?) and woman; banana leaves, “bottle-brush” trees, balustrade, rocks, clouds, lush exotic vegetation, a gnome-like figure. The figures and the landscape give a fantasy-world impression. The style is sketchy, in outline and wash, and decoratively treated in terms of scale and detail. Band at base: plain with three spaced, sketchily drawn plant motifs.

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1670-1690
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear colorless glaze
Style
Arita ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 23.6 x 19.3 x 19.3 cm (9 5/16 x 7 5/8 x 7 5/8 in)
Geography
Japan, Saga prefecture, Arita
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1977.13
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar

Keywords
Arita ware, cobalt pigment, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, landscape, man, plant, porcelain, woman
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Jar: ovoid, short straight neck, probably had a cover. Arita ware, export type.
Clay: white porcelain, some slight orange tint of oxidization at glaze margins.
Glaze: clear porcelain glaze, medium gloss, all over except top edge, inside mouth and edge of foot-rim.
Decoration: painted in underglaze cobalt blue with figures in landscape. Neck: band of pointed overlapping petals. Main zone: Chinese figures, man in tricorne headdress with banner (?) and woman; banana leaves, "bottle-brush" trees, balustrade, rocks, clouds, lush exotic vegetation, a gnome-like figure. The figures and the landscape give a fantasy-world impression. The style is sketchy, in outline and wash, and decoratively treated in terms of scale and detail. Band at base: plain with three spaced, sketchily drawn plant motifs.

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