Tea ceremony water jar

Buff clay; some bloating in bottom. Two strap handles with incised vertical lines and appliqued studs. Three stump feet. Designs of cloud collars on neck, chevrons on body, incised with broad-edged blade. Ash glaze, crackled, greenish where thick; applied in two coats on outside, one coat on inside, wiped off flange and base; irregular trickles of brown iron glaze from rim between handles; six round spur marks in glaze of recessed rim; three small spur marks in bottom.

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1615-1630
Medium
Stoneware with ash and iron glazes
Style
Mino ware, Ofuke type
Dimensions
H x Diam: 18.4 × 18.6 cm (7 1/4 × 7 5/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Gifu prefecture, Mino kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1893.3a-b
On View Location
Freer Gallery 12: The Peacock Room Comes to America
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea ceremony water jar (mizusashi)

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, Mino ware, Ofuke type, stoneware, tea, water
Provenance

To 1893
Tozo Takayanagi, New York to 1893 [1]

From 1893 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Tozo Takayanagi, New York in 1893 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 128, 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)

Takayanagi Tozo (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

Buff clay; some bloating in bottom. Two strap handles with incised vertical lines and appliqued studs. Three stump feet. Designs of cloud collars on neck, chevrons on body, incised with broad-edged blade. Ash glaze, crackled, greenish where thick; applied in two coats on outside, one coat on inside, wiped off flange and base; irregular trickles of brown iron glaze from rim between handles; six round spur marks in glaze of recessed rim; three small spur marks in bottom.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort. Seto and Mino Ceramics. Washington and Honolulu, 1992. cat. 67, p. 37.
  • , no. 39 Lexington, Massachusetts, 2018. p. 138, fig. 8.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
The Story of the Beautiful
Google Cultural Institute
SI Usage Statement

Usage Conditions Apply

There are restrictions for re-using this image. 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 Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Request Permission | Terms of Use