Kendi with silver fittings

Water vessel with long neck and pouring spout (kendi) and silver fittings.
Clay: porcelain.
Glaze: clear pale glaze (“celadon”). Glazed on interior and on base excepting footrim.
Decoration: broadly incised fluting on body (running from shoulder to foot) and on spout (running from shoulder to point of attachment to body).
Mark: none.
Fittings: The wide everted rim of the elongated neck an the tip of the spout are encased in silver and supplied with silver stoppers; the stoppers are connected by a long chain; the silver is decorated by stamping and chasing.

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1670-1700
Medium
Porcelain with celadon glaze; silver fittings
Style
Arita ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 25.4 x 15.5 x 15.5 cm (10 x 6 1/8 x 6 1/8 in)
Geography
Japan, Saga prefecture, Arita
Credit Line
Gift of Dorothy M. Slak
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1986.33
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Kendi

Keywords
Arita ware, Edo period (1615 - 1868), green glaze, Japan, porcelain
Provenance

About 1968 to 1986
Dorothy M. Slak, Sarasota, Florida, acquired in Jakarta about 1968 [1]

From 1986
Freer Gallery of Art, given by Dorothy M. Slak in 1986

Notes:

[1] According to Curatorial Note 10 in object record.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Ms. Dorothy M. Slak

Description

Water vessel with long neck and pouring spout (kendi) and silver fittings.
Clay: porcelain.
Glaze: clear pale glaze ("celadon"). Glazed on interior and on base excepting footrim.
Decoration: broadly incised fluting on body (running from shoulder to foot) and on spout (running from shoulder to point of attachment to body).
Mark: none.
Fittings: The wide everted rim of the elongated neck an the tip of the spout are encased in silver and supplied with silver stoppers; the stoppers are connected by a long chain; the silver is decorated by stamping and chasing.

Label

This bottle for drinking water is a shape specific to Southeast Asia; acquired in Indonesia, it bears Indonesian metal fittings. In the mid-seventeenth century, several kilns in Arita, Japan, made Chinese-style celadon as well as blue-and-white porcelain for the Southeast Asian export trade. The Japanese wares were exported via Dutch and Chinese trading ships.

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