Kutani ware jar for “Tomo shiraga” brand sake

Large jar. Repaired with gold lacquer.
Clay: coarse, hard, gray. Stoneware.
Glaze: cream-white slip, showing brush marks under clear glaze. Pitted and fissured. where slip applied over trimmed areas.
Inscriptions: (front) Tomo shiraga [Jpn]; (back) Mitsumata Kutani zo [Jpn].

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Historical period(s)
Edo period or Meiji era, 19th century
Medium
Stoneware with white slip and cobalt pigment under clear colorless glaze
Style
Kutani ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 49.1 Ɨ 35.7 cm (19 5/16 Ɨ 14 1/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Ishikawa prefecture
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1901.143
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar (sake)

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, Kutani ware, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), sake, stoneware
Provenance

To 1901
Yamanaka & Company, New York, NY, to 1901 [1]

From 1901 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1901 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1036, 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
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917-1965

Description

Large jar. Repaired with gold lacquer.
Clay: coarse, hard, gray. Stoneware.
Glaze: cream-white slip, showing brush marks under clear glaze. Pitted and fissured. where slip applied over trimmed areas.
Inscriptions: (front) Tomo shiraga [Jpn]; (back) Mitsumata Kutani zo [Jpn].

Inscription(s)

1. (C.L. Freer Notes, undated) Inscription painted on side: "Tomo Shirage" in large letters. "Friend, white hair." "Frined always, even with white hair." An inscription painted on other side: "Mitsumata, Kyukoku, Tsu-kuru, family name, name, made."

Published References
  • Warren E. Cox. The Book of Pottery and Porcelain. 2 vols., New York. vol. 1: p. 242, pl. 75.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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