Cizhou ware bottle

Vase: tall with ovoidal body, small neck and flaring lip; deep foot.
Clay: buff, sandy, fired hard.
Glaze: transparent green with fine crackle, large areas of iridescence and decomposition.
Decoration: heavy white slip, cut away in peony pattern, incised lines. Raw slip may be seen under unglazed foot.

Historical period(s)
Northern Song or Jin dynasty, first half of 12th century
Medium
Stoneware with white slip under copper-green lead silicate glaze
Style
Cizhou ware
Dimensions
H x W: 25.7 x 15.3 cm (10 1/8 x 6 in)
Geography
China, Hebei province, Cizhou county, Guantai kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1917.204
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bottle

Keywords
China, Cizhou ware, iridescence, Jin dynasty (1115 - 1234), Northern Song dynasty (960 - 1127), peony, stoneware
Provenance

To 1917
Tonying and Company, New York to 1917 [1]

From 1917 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Tonying and Company, New York in 1917 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2516, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. By at least 1917, Tonying and Company maintained business locations in Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, London, and New York, NY.

[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
Tonying and Company established 1902

Description

Vase: tall with ovoidal body, small neck and flaring lip; deep foot.
Clay: buff, sandy, fired hard.
Glaze: transparent green with fine crackle, large areas of iridescence and decomposition.
Decoration: heavy white slip, cut away in peony pattern, incised lines. Raw slip may be seen under unglazed foot.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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