Tea caddy imitating Takatori ware

Tea caddy. Ivory cover. Unidentified base covered with brown and black lacquer in imitation of a Takatori pottery glaze.

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Historical period(s)
Edo period, 18th-19th century
Medium
Lacquer on unidentified base; ivory lid
Dimensions
H x W: 7 x 4.2 cm (2 3/4 x 1 5/8 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1902.70a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Lacquer, Vessel
Type

Tea caddy (chaire)

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, tea
Provenance

To 1902
Samuel Colman (1832-1920), New York, NY, and Newport, RI, to 1902 [1]

From 1902 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased at the sale of the Samuel Colman Collection, American Art Association, New York, March 19-22, 1902 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Pottery List, L. 1136, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Samuel Colman was collecting Asian objects by at least 1880 (see Curatorial Remark 6, Louise Cort, April 20, 2007, in the object record).

[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)

Samuel Colman 1832-1920
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
American Art Association (C.L. Freer source) established 1883

Description

Tea caddy. Ivory cover. Unidentified base covered with brown and black lacquer in imitation of a Takatori pottery glaze.

Label

Takatori ware ceramic tea caddies with layered glazes were popular tea utensils. The skillful lacquerer who made this tea caddy perfectly replicated the color and texture of Takatori ware. Ceramic tea containers are used customarily for the preparation called thick tea, while lacquer containers are used for thin tea. This lacquer posing as ceramic playfully crosses boundaries.

Published References
  • Andrew Maske. Potters and Patrons in Edo Period Japan: Takatori Ware and the Kuroda Domain. Farnham, Surry, UK and Burlington, Vermont. fig. 6.23.
  • Ann Yonemura. Japanese Lacquer. Washington, 1979. cat. 51, p. 86.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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