Water dropper in the form of a duck

Historical period(s)
Goryeo period, 12th century
Medium
Stoneware with iron pigment under celadon glaze
Dimensions
H x W: 7.5 x 13.8 cm (2 15/16 x 5 7/16 in)
Geography
Korea, Jeolla-do province, Gangjin or Buan county, Gangjin or Buan kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1909.24
On View Location
Freer Gallery 14: Rediscovering Korea's Past
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Water dropper

Keywords
duck, Goryeo period (918 - 1392), green glaze, iron pigment, Korea, lotus, stoneware, water
Provenance

To 1909Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1909 [1]From 1909 to 1919Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1909 [2]From 1920Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]Notes:[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Pottery List, L. 1913, 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)

Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Label

Koryo potters were masters at sculpting water droppers in the forms of birds, animals, and human figures. The vessels supplied water for the process of making ink by grinding a stick of ink on an inkstone.

Published References

G. St. G.M. Gompertz. Korean Celadon. Faber monographs on pottery and porcelain, 1st American ed. New York. pl. A.Sekai toji zenshu (Catalogue of the World's Ceramics). 19 vols., Tokyo, 1976-1982. .Oriental Ceramics (Toyo Toji Taikan): The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. pl. 229.Ann Yonemura. Korean Art in Western Collections, 5: Korean Art in the Freer Gallery of Art. vol. 4, no. 2 Los Angeles, June 1983. pp. 4-15, pl. 4.Korean Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Washington, D.C. no. 6.19, p. 97.Robert L. Hobson, Edward S. Morse, Rose Sickler Williams. Chinese, Corean, and Japanese Potteries: Descriptive Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition. Exh. cat. New York, March 2-21, 1914. cat. 103, p. 99.

Collection Area(s)
Korean Art
Web Resources
Korean Ceramics
Google Cultural Institute
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