Serving dish with design of pine seedling, Seto ware, Ofuke type

Buff clay, darkened on surface by use. Decoration of pine seedling incised and painted in blue-gray underglaze cobalt. Line of cobalt painted over incised line on curved sections of rim. Clear glaze, yellow in tone, closely crackled and stained; areas of violet blue opalescence where thick. Foot unglazed. Wear in bottom.

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Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1800-1868
Medium
Stoneware with cobalt pigment under clear glaze
Style
Seto ware, Ofuke type
Dimensions
H x W x D: 3.9 x 17.6 x 17.6 cm (1 9/16 x 6 15/16 x 6 15/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Aichi prefecture, Seto
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1906.25
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Serving dish

Keywords
cobalt pigment, Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, pine tree, Seto ware, Ofuke type, stoneware
Provenance

To 1906
Spier Collection, to 1906 [1]

From 1906 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), puchased from the Spier Collection in 1906 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 219, 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)

Julius Spier (C.L. Freer source) 1848-1923
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

Buff clay, darkened on surface by use. Decoration of pine seedling incised and painted in blue-gray underglaze cobalt. Line of cobalt painted over incised line on curved sections of rim. Clear glaze, yellow in tone, closely crackled and stained; areas of violet blue opalescence where thick. Foot unglazed. Wear in bottom.

Label

Echoes of Momoyama tablewares can be found in the reshaped wheel-thrown form and the large single plant motif, but the ash glaze with touches of opalescence and the blue-gray cobalt accents belong to Ofuke ware. The pine seedling was an auspicious motif connoting longevity and renewal.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort. Seto and Mino Ceramics. Washington and Honolulu, 1992. cat. 75, p. 156.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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