Vase

Pear-shaped vase with slightly everted rim, fairly short neck, and bulbous shape tapering to flat base with visible footring cut from sides and foot.

Clay: Porcelain; footrim darkened on surface by use.

Glaze: Brown (iron) glaze applied to interior, rim and base. Brown drained from rim during firing, leaving area white. Blue (cobalt) glaze, applied to exterior, is densest around the neck and sides of the body. Blue appears mottled on body and slightly pooled at the outer edge of the foot. Where the glaze has separated between the body and the foot, a band of white is revealed. Unglazed footrim.

Decoration: none

Mark: none

Two paper labels: “CMK 30” and “KM 11”. Sticker on base gives price of $20.00.

Maker(s)
Artist: Attributed to Takemoto Hayata (1848-1892)
Historical period(s)
Meiji era, ca. 1892
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt and iron glazes
Dimensions
H x W x D: 11.5 x 9.5 x 9.5 cm (4 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 in)
Geography
Japan, Tokyo
Credit Line
Bequest of Isabel S. Kurtz
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1991.22
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vase

Keywords
cobalt glaze, Japan, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), porcelain
Provenance

To ?
Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909). [1]

To 1991
Isabel S. Kurtz (1901-1991). [2]

From 1991
Freer Gallery of Art, bequest of Isabel S. Kurtz (1901-1991). [3]

Notes:

[1] Ms. Isabel Kurtz bequeathed the group of Asian ceramics, F1991.19-.44, to the Freer Gallery of Art. These objects had been collected by her father, Charles M. Kurtz, who was a friend of Charles Freer. Also see Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.

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

[3] See note 2.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles M. Kurtz 1855-1909
Isabel S. Kurtz 1901-1991

Description

Pear-shaped vase with slightly everted rim, fairly short neck, and bulbous shape tapering to flat base with visible footring cut from sides and foot.

Clay: Porcelain; footrim darkened on surface by use.

Glaze: Brown (iron) glaze applied to interior, rim and base. Brown drained from rim during firing, leaving area white. Blue (cobalt) glaze, applied to exterior, is densest around the neck and sides of the body. Blue appears mottled on body and slightly pooled at the outer edge of the foot. Where the glaze has separated between the body and the foot, a band of white is revealed. Unglazed footrim.

Decoration: none

Mark: none

Two paper labels: "CMK 30" and "KM 11". Sticker on base gives price of $20.00.

Marking(s)

Two paper labels: "CMK 30" and "KM 11". Sticker on base gives price of $20.00.

Label

This vase was part of a collection formed by Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909), during the period when he served as assistant art director for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and art director for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Centennial International Exposition in St. Louis. Kurtz's collecting focused on porcelain with highly colored glazed. Along with these pieces by prominent Japanese potters, Kurtz acquired vases of similar shapes and colors from American and European factories. Kurtz's collection, representative of a broad popular interest in Japanese art in the late nineteenth century, also reflects the growing internationalism in the decoration of ceramics resulting from rapid exchange of information and technology facilitated by the international fairs.

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