Lobed bottle in the form of a pear

Small pear-shaped eight-lobed bottle with flat base.
Clay: pale gray, fine-grained.
Glaze: thin translucent glaze with blue-gray tinge, surface densely covered by fine abrasions; base unglazed.
Decoration: in bright to dark blue underglaze cobalt. Below present rim, two sets of double lines framing band of geometrical patterns. Vertical lines drawn approximately over eight gentle indentations in widest part of body creating eight lobes, ending at top in alternating Y-shape or cloud-collar shape; defined top and bottom by single line.
Mark: none.
Condition: neck ground down.

Historical period(s)
Later Le dynasty, 15th century
Medium
Stoneware with cobalt pigment under clear glaze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 4.7 x 4.1 x 4.1 cm (1 7/8 x 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 in)
Geography
Vietnam, Hai Duong province, Red River Delta kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Dean Frasché
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1989.11
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bottle

Keywords
clear glaze, cobalt pigment, Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1527), stoneware, Vietnam
Provenance

From 1947
Dean Frasché, collected in 1947 from Batavia. [1]

To 1989
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Dean Frasché, Greenwich, Connecticut. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Dean Frasché 1906-1994

Description

Small pear-shaped eight-lobed bottle with flat base.
Clay: pale gray, fine-grained.
Glaze: thin translucent glaze with blue-gray tinge, surface densely covered by fine abrasions; base unglazed.
Decoration: in bright to dark blue underglaze cobalt. Below present rim, two sets of double lines framing band of geometrical patterns. Vertical lines drawn approximately over eight gentle indentations in widest part of body creating eight lobes, ending at top in alternating Y-shape or cloud-collar shape; defined top and bottom by single line.
Mark: none.
Condition: neck ground down.

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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