Fragment of underglaze cobalt-blue-painted wall tile

Object Details

• Description

  Shape: Hollow wall-tile fragment, probably architectural.

  Clay: The body is a very fine clay, light gray in color, having many small air holes and very few inclusions. Hardness of the body approaches 7 on the Mohs Scale. A cross-section of the body where it has been cut with a diamond saw reveals a distinct layering in the clay body of the tile.

  Glaze: The feldspathic, bubbly, translucent glaze covers the sides and top of the tile. The white background has no crackle. The inside of the tile shows uneven coverage of the clear glaze.

  Decoration: The body is covered with a milky white slip onto which the cobalt-blue decoration has been painted and into which it has suffused. The underglaze cobalt-blue paint is of good quality. The design is Chinese in style and consists of a chrysanthemum scroll pattern. The leaves are solid strokes, not outlined. Petals are blue-tipped in the manner of 14th-Century Chinese wares with lotus flowers.

  Marks: None.

• Provenance

  To 1957

  Abu Ridho, Jakarta, Indonesia. [1]

  1957

  John A. Pope (1906-1982), Washington DC, gift of Abu Ridho, Jakarta, Indonesia. [2]

  From 1957

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of John A. Pope, Washington DC [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See object file, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Study Collection

• Previous custodian or owner

  Abu Ridho (born 1927)

  Dr. John Alexander Pope (1906-1982)

• Origin

  Red River Delta kilns, Hai Duong province, Vietnam

• Credit Line

  Gift of John A. Pope

• Type

  Architectural Element

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1600s, 1400s

• Name

  Pope, John Alexander, Ridho, Abu

• Place

  Hai Duong province, Vietnam, Red River Delta kilns

• Topic

  Art, Chrysanthemum, Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1527), Stoneware, Southeast Asian Art, Ceramics, Lotus

• Culture

  Southeast Asians

• Object Type

  Architectural elements