Covered box

Round covered box; center panel of cover slightly recessed, base slightly recessed; one chip inside edge of cover.
Clay: pale putty-colored, high-fired, hard, fine texture, resonant, but without transparency.
Glaze: thin, clear, covers decoration on white slip on outside, inside of bowl and partial on inside of cover. Some deterioration on cover only, in the form of iridescent flaking over areas of heaviest concentration of blue. Both glaze and slip stop a little short of unglazed base.
Decoration: painted in underglaze cobalt blue on white slip. Cover: center panel, containing an eight-petalled flower head, lies within a border of six petal shapes filled alternately with plant and geometric forms. Sides: six lotus petal panels filled alternately with leaf and concentric wave patterns.

Historical period(s)
Later Le dynasty, 15th century
Medium
Stoneware with cobalt pigment under clear glaze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 4.5 x 7.4 x 7.4 cm (1 3/4 x 2 15/16 x 2 15/16 in)
Geography
Vietnam, Hai Duong province, Red River Delta kilns
Credit Line
Anonymous gift
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1978.42a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Container
Type

Box

Keywords
cobalt pigment, flower, Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1527), lotus, plant, stoneware, Vietnam
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Round covered box; center panel of cover slightly recessed, base slightly recessed; one chip inside edge of cover.
Clay: pale putty-colored, high-fired, hard, fine texture, resonant, but without transparency.
Glaze: thin, clear, covers decoration on white slip on outside, inside of bowl and partial on inside of cover. Some deterioration on cover only, in the form of iridescent flaking over areas of heaviest concentration of blue. Both glaze and slip stop a little short of unglazed base.
Decoration: painted in underglaze cobalt blue on white slip. Cover: center panel, containing an eight-petalled flower head, lies within a border of six petal shapes filled alternately with plant and geometric forms. Sides: six lotus petal panels filled alternately with leaf and concentric wave patterns.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort, George Williams, David P. Rehfuss. Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia. Washington. .
Collection Area(s)
Southeast Asian Art
Web Resources
Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia
Google Cultural Institute
F|S Southeast Asia
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