Vase

Vase: quadrilateral, with steep shoulder and square mouth. Firecrack on shoulder.
Clay: hard, white.
Glaze: brilliant cream-white.
Decoration: bosses on edges of shoulder in high relief; on the four sides, identical impressed inscription consisting of 38 stylized variations of the character shou (longevity), under glaze.

Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, mid 17th-19th century
Medium
Stoneware with white slip under clear glaze
Style
Zhang ware
Dimensions
H x W: 21.4 x 10.9 cm (8 7/16 x 4 5/16 in)
Geography
China, Fujian province, Zhang kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1902.86
On View Location
Freer Gallery 12: The Peacock Room Comes to America
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vase

Keywords
China, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Zhang ware
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. 1155, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Samuel Colman was collecting Asian objects by at least 1880 (see Curatorial Remark 7, 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

Vase: quadrilateral, with steep shoulder and square mouth. Firecrack on shoulder.
Clay: hard, white.
Glaze: brilliant cream-white.
Decoration: bosses on edges of shoulder in high relief; on the four sides, identical impressed inscription consisting of 38 stylized variations of the character shou (longevity), under glaze.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
The Story of the Beautiful
Google Cultural Institute
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