Green-glazed hu-shaped jar

Jar (hu): ovoidal, with trumpet-shaped mouth; two open handles; recessed foot. Cf. F1910.15.
Clay: hard, gray stoneware. Reddish-brown on surface.
Glaze: lustrous olive, lightly craced on shoulder and inside neck.
Decoration: corrugated encircling lines, and linear designs incised in paste.
Cf. F1910.15.

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Historical period(s)
Western Han dynasty, 1st century BCE-early 1st century CE
Medium
Stoneware with applied and accidental wood-ash glazes
Style
Zhejiang green-glazed ware
Dimensions
H x W: 27.7 x 20.7 cm (10 7/8 x 8 1/8 in)
Geography
China, Zhejiang Province
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1909.299
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar

Keywords
China, stoneware, Western Han dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE), Zhejiang green-glazed ware
Provenance

To 1909
Ta Ge Chung, Beijing, to 1909 [1]

From 1909 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Ta Ge Chung, Beijing, in 1909 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2014, 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)

Ta Ge Chung (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

Jar (hu): ovoidal, with trumpet-shaped mouth; two open handles; recessed foot. Cf. F1910.15.
Clay: hard, gray stoneware. Reddish-brown on surface.
Glaze: lustrous olive, lightly craced on shoulder and inside neck.
Decoration: corrugated encircling lines, and linear designs incised in paste.
Cf. F1910.15.

Label

Shaped after the Chinese bronze vessel called a hu, this jar bears glaze only inside its neck and on its shoulder. The glaze may be a combination of applied and natural glazes. A natural decorative effect was produced where the glaze gathered on the raised bowstring patterns. Incised stylized bird motifs complete the decor. Although jars of this type are found in tombs, they also may have been used in everyday life for storage.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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