Lidded bowl with design of iris

Lidded bowl (futajawan)
Clay: earthenware; dense, sonorous, grayish.
Glaze: rich cream, closely crackled; stained with fawn. Lead glaze.
Decoration: in green and blue enamels, under glaze. Design of iris.
Two signatures: On bowl: Kenzan. On lid: Based on painting by Korin; Kenzan (with ji cipher).

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Maker(s)
Artist: Ogata Ihachi (Kyoto Kenzan II) (active 1720-1760)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, mid-18th century
Medium
White clay; pigments, enamels, and iron pigment under transparent lead glaze
Dimensions
H x Diam: 8.8 Ɨ 13.3 cm (3 7/16 Ɨ 5 1/4 in)
Geography
Japan, Kyoto prefecture, Kyoto
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1899.46a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), iris, Japan, Tales of Ise
Provenance

To 1899
Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1899 [1]

From 1899 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1899 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 286, 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

Lidded bowl (futajawan)
Clay: earthenware; dense, sonorous, grayish.
Glaze: rich cream, closely crackled; stained with fawn. Lead glaze.
Decoration: in green and blue enamels, under glaze. Design of iris.
Two signatures: On bowl: Kenzan. On lid: Based on painting by Korin; Kenzan (with ji cipher).

Label

This is a lidded bowl for serving steamed food; the lid is designed so that steam condensing on its underside drips out of the vessel rather than into it. True to the inscription, the decoration is based on a Korin design, once again his interpretation of the popular "eight bridges" episode in the ninth chapter of the classical Tales of Ise.


The execution clearly relates to F1896.56, and they are probably part of the same batch.

Published References
  • Richard L. Wilson. The Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics. Exh. cat. Washington. p. 129, fig. 50.
  • Ceramics of Kenzan (1663-1743). Exh. cat. Tokyo. p. 131, fig. 7.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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