Karatsu ware individual serving bowl

Bowl, small, shallow.
Clay: medium stoneware, purplish brown.
Glaze: clear.
Decoration: in slip under glaze; cranes and small scroll in underglaze blue. Mishima & hakeme techniques.

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1650-1700
Medium
Stoneware with white slip and cobalt pigment under clear glaze
Style
Karatsu ware, Mishima type
Dimensions
H x Diam: 4.5 × 13.9 cm (1 3/4 × 5 1/2 in)
Geography
Japan, Saga prefecture, Ureshino
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1896.43
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl (mukozuke)

Keywords
crane, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, Karatsu ware, Mishima Karatsu type, stoneware
Provenance

To 1896
Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1896 [1]

From 1896 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1896 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, 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)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Bunkio Matsuki (C.L. Freer source) 1867-1940

Description

Bowl, small, shallow.
Clay: medium stoneware, purplish brown.
Glaze: clear.
Decoration: in slip under glaze; cranes and small scroll in underglaze blue. Mishima & hakeme techniques.

Label

This charming bowl, made at a Karatsu kiln, evokes classical mishima motifs with stylized flower-heads and delicate 'rope curtain' stamps, revealed by careful removal of slip. At the same time, the popularity of cobalt-decorated porcelain is acknowledged by the "crane and cloud" motif sketches in cobalt on the remaining slip.

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