Bulb bowl with impressed character jiu (nine)

Bulb-bowl: low circular, on three cloud-scroll feet; two rows of studs on the exterior. Incised numeral jiu (nine) and spur-marks on the base. Wood stand.
Clay: hard, dense, grayish-white.
Glaze: inside: lavender to blue dappled with gray; outside: blue to rose-purple, dappled with light gray; olive on salient parts and base.
“Earth-worm markings”

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Historical period(s)
Ming dynasty, 15th century
Medium
Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment
Style
Jun ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 6.5 Ɨ 16.1 cm (2 9/16 Ɨ 6 5/16 in)
Geography
China, Henan province, Yuxian, Juntai kiln
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1909.309
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
China, Jun ware, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), stoneware, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)
Provenance

To 1909
Chi Pao Chai, Beijing, to 1909 [1]

From 1909 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Chi Pao Chai in 1909 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2036, 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)

Chi Pao Chai (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

Bulb-bowl: low circular, on three cloud-scroll feet; two rows of studs on the exterior. Incised numeral jiu (nine) and spur-marks on the base. Wood stand.
Clay: hard, dense, grayish-white.
Glaze: inside: lavender to blue dappled with gray; outside: blue to rose-purple, dappled with light gray; olive on salient parts and base.
"Earth-worm markings"

Published References
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 53.
  • Dongqing Fan. Song Dynasty Yaozhou and Jun Wares in the Freer Gallery of Art. vol. 42, no. 3. pp. 24-29, figs. 8-9.
  • Rose Kerr. Dazzling Official Jun Wares: From Museums and Collections Around the World. Hong Kong, China, August 13, 2021. p. 249, fig. 165.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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