Tenmoku tea bowl

Buff clay concealed by iron wash. Ash glaze applied over overall iron slip, appearing opaque yellow-brown speckled with dark brown, ending evenly slightly below midline of body. Metal rim; brown lacquer repairs.

Historical period(s)
Muromachi period, 1530-1550
Medium
Stoneware with iron slip under wood-ash glaze; metal rim
Style
Mino ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 6.6 x 12.4 x 12.4 cm (2 5/8 x 4 7/8 x 4 7/8 in)
Geography
Japan, Gifu prefecture, Mino kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1912.95
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea bowl (tenmoku chawan)

Keywords
Japan, Mino ware, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), stoneware, tea
Provenance

To 1912
Yamanaka & Company, New York to 1912 [1]

From 1912 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York in 1912 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2360, Freer Galley 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)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917-1965

Description

Buff clay concealed by iron wash. Ash glaze applied over overall iron slip, appearing opaque yellow-brown speckled with dark brown, ending evenly slightly below midline of body. Metal rim; brown lacquer repairs.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort. Seto and Mino Ceramics. Washington and Honolulu, 1992. cat. 10, p. 77.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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