Longquan ware cup

Squat cup with foliate flange resting above a small, U-shaped handle. Rim almost as wide as maximum diameter of body, which swells out slightly. Short, narrow footring. Clay: stoneware, bright orange on surface where exposed on unglazed rim and edge of footring.
Glaze: misfired Guan-type glaze, appearing dull tan with uneven blue-purple blotches; densely crackled with pattern of larger cracks.

Historical period(s)
Southern Song dynasty, 12th-13th century
Medium
Stoneware with misfired Guan-type glaze
Style
Longquan ware, Guan type
Dimensions
H x W x D: 5.1 x 11.6 x 10.2 cm (2 x 4 9/16 x 4 in)
Geography
China, Zhejiang province, Longquan, Probably Dayao kiln or Qikou kiln
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Irving Philips
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1987.2a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Cup

Keywords
China, Longquan ware, Guan type, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), stoneware
Provenance

From 1962
Dr. Irving Philips, San Francisco, purchased in 1962 [1]

From 1986
Freer Gallery of Art, given by Dr. Irving Philips in 1986 [2]

Notes:

[1] According to Curatorial Note 6 in object record.

[2] The object was transferred from the Freer Study Collection to the Freer Permanent Collection on May 22, 1987 (see Curatorial Note 6 in object record).

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Dr. Irving Philips

Description

Squat cup with foliate flange resting above a small, U-shaped handle. Rim almost as wide as maximum diameter of body, which swells out slightly. Short, narrow footring. Clay: stoneware, bright orange on surface where exposed on unglazed rim and edge of footring.
Glaze: misfired Guan-type glaze, appearing dull tan with uneven blue-purple blotches; densely crackled with pattern of larger cracks.

Label

Guan-type glaze is difficult to control, and this cup demonstrates an undesirable variation in glaze color and texture that occurs when the glaze is oxidized (fired with abundant oxygen) and under fired.

This cup has a light- rather than dark-colored body and was probably made in Longquan. Some scholars believe the Guan glaze originated at the Longquan kilns and was then adopted at the imperial kiln in Hangzhou; once Guan ware was in vogue at the court, influences percolated back to Longquan.


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