Covered box

Round box with domed lid, tapering body, and flat base.

Clay: porcelain; white with areas of orange oxidation at edge of glaze and on base.
Glaze: translucent white, somewhat grainy in texture and matte on surface; on body glaze edges slightly above beveled edge of base; interior glazed, with scars in glaze in bottom; edge of glaze inside lid neatly trimmed.
Decoration: in underglaze cobalt. Double ring in center of domed lid, surrounded by two of the eight Buddhist precious objects, the cash and the pair of books, framed by streamers and random dots; single ring just above edge. On body, single ring just below edge; two plant motifs in alternation, repeating three times each; single ring just above base.
Mark: none.

Historical period(s)
Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 3.5 x 4.4 x 4.4 cm (1 3/8 x 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Gift of Dean Frasché
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1989.6a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Container
Type

Box

Keywords
Buddhism, China, clear glaze, cobalt pigment, Jingdezhen ware, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), plant, porcelain
Provenance

From 1959
Dean Frasché, collected in 1959 from Djakarta, Indonesia. [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

Round box with domed lid, tapering body, and flat base.

Clay: porcelain; white with areas of orange oxidation at edge of glaze and on base.
Glaze: translucent white, somewhat grainy in texture and matte on surface; on body glaze edges slightly above beveled edge of base; interior glazed, with scars in glaze in bottom; edge of glaze inside lid neatly trimmed.
Decoration: in underglaze cobalt. Double ring in center of domed lid, surrounded by two of the eight Buddhist precious objects, the cash and the pair of books, framed by streamers and random dots; single ring just above edge. On body, single ring just below edge; two plant motifs in alternation, repeating three times each; single ring just above base.
Mark: none.

Marking(s)

Frasche number 586, written on adhesive label on inside of lid.

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