Kenzan-style Black Raku water jar with design of gibbons and bamboo

Clay: Raku earthenware.
Glaze: brilliant black; orange-skin surface.
Decoration: incised into glaze; monkeys and bamboo.

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Maker(s)
Artist: Imitation of Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743) Kyoto workshop
Historical period(s)
Meiji era, late 19th century
Medium
Clay; black and transparent lead glazes; lacquered wooden lid
Style
Raku ware, unknown workshop
Dimensions
H x Diam: 23.3 Ɨ 13.3 cm (9 3/16 Ɨ 5 1/4 in)
Geography
Japan, Kyoto prefecture, Kyoto
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1901.61a-b
On View Location
Freer Gallery 12: The Peacock Room Comes to America
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea ceremony water jar (hosomizusashi)

Keywords
bamboo, Japan, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), monkey, Raku ware, tea, water
Provenance

To 1901
Siegfried Bing (1838-1905), Paris, to 1901 [1]

From 1901 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Siegfried Bing, Paris in 1901

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 940, 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)

Siegfried Bing (C.L. Freer source) 1838-1905
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

Clay: Raku earthenware.
Glaze: brilliant black; orange-skin surface.
Decoration: incised into glaze; monkeys and bamboo.

Published References
  • Richard L. Wilson. The Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics. Exh. cat. Washington. cat. 81, p. 171.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
The Story of the Beautiful
Google Cultural Institute
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