Shiwan ware vase in lotus bud form (neck cut down)

Vase of globular form, the exterior moulded in lotus flower form, with petals in relief. Teakwood cover and stand.
Clay: heavy gray stoneware.
Glaze: milky gray, crackled, with areas of bluish and creamy tint; dark body color shows through on edges.

Historical period(s)
Ming dynasty, 16th-mid 17th century
Medium
Stoneware with opaque white glaze
Style
Shiwan (Shekwan) ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 17.9 × 23.3 cm (7 1/16 × 9 3/16 in)
Geography
China, Guangdong province, Foshan, Shiwan (Shekwan) kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1900.3a-b
On View Location
Freer Gallery 12: The Peacock Room Comes to America
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vase

Keywords
China, flower, lotus, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Shiwan ware, stoneware
Provenance

To 1900
Yamanaka & Company, to 1900 [1]

From 1900 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1900 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 56, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

[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
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917-1965

Description

Vase of globular form, the exterior moulded in lotus flower form, with petals in relief. Teakwood cover and stand.
Clay: heavy gray stoneware.
Glaze: milky gray, crackled, with areas of bluish and creamy tint; dark body color shows through on edges.

Published References
  • Robert L. Hobson. Chinese Pottery and Porcelain: An Account of the Potter's Art in China from Primitive Times to the Present Day. 2 vols., New York and London. vol. 1: pl. 18, fig. 2.
  • Sigisbert Chrétien Bosch Reitz. Catalogue of an Exhibition of Early Chinese Pottery and Sculpture. Exh. cat. New York. fig. 147.
  • Bernard Rackham. The Literature of Chinese Pottery: A Brief Survey and Review. vol. 30, no. 167 London, February 1917. pp. 44-52, pl. 2F.
  • Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Martin Eidelberg, Adrienne Spinozzi. American Art Pottery: The Robert A. Ellison Jr. Collection. New York, New York. p. 312, fig. 347.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
The Story of the Beautiful
Google Cultural Institute
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