Container in the shape of a snow goose

Historical period(s)
Meiji era, late 19th century
Medium
Earthenware with white slip and colored pigments under clear lead glaze
Style
Ikaho ware
Dimensions
H x W: 6.6 x 9.3 cm (2 5/8 x 3 11/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Gumma prefecture, Ikaho
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1902.79a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Container
Type

Incense box (kogo)

Keywords
goose, Ikaho ware, iridescence, Japan, Meiji era (1868 - 1912)
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] See Original Pottery List, L. 1147, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Samuel Colman was collecting Asian objects by at least 1880 (see Curatorial Remark 8, 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

Label

Meiji-era travel guides for foreign tourists described the hotspring village of Ikaho as "one of the best summer resorts in Japan." This box in the shape of a snow goose (distinguished by its black tail feathers) was made locally for sale to visitors as a souvenir. It may have held dry sweets. Freer acquired this piece from the collection of Samuel Colman (1832-1920), a New York-based interior decorator who worked closely with Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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