Vase

Inverted pyriform-shaped (pear-shaped) vase with narrow mouth, flared lip and thin rim characteristic of trumpet-shaped neck. Square shoulders and bulbous body tapering down into stem which rests on flat foot trimmed to form thin footring.

Clay: Porcelain, footrim slightly darkened on surface by use.

Glaze: A red transmutation glaze with green inclusions. The blue-green color may have been caused by phase-separation. Glaze streaked and mottled during firing caused spontaneously as a result of the particular glaze design, the supersaturation of the pigment in the glaze and how the glaze reacted in the kiln. When fired in an oxidizing atmosphere, the metallic oxides in the glaze came to the surface and formed the crystals. Interior and foot covered with light blue-green glaze. Unglazed footrim.

Decoration: The streaking and spotting in green and blue-green provided a bright decorative contrast with the red ground color.

Signatures/Inscriptions: Two paper labels: “1” and “88/hiku/766/116/” and two undecipherable marks.

Maker(s)
Artist: Attributed to Takemoto Hayata (1848-1892)
Historical period(s)
Meiji era, ca. 1900
Medium
Porcelain with copper-tinted glaze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 18.1 x 8.9 x 8.9 cm (7 1/8 x 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Bequest of Isabel S. Kurtz
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1991.30
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vase

Keywords
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

Inverted pyriform-shaped (pear-shaped) vase with narrow mouth, flared lip and thin rim characteristic of trumpet-shaped neck. Square shoulders and bulbous body tapering down into stem which rests on flat foot trimmed to form thin footring.

Clay: Porcelain, footrim slightly darkened on surface by use.

Glaze: A red transmutation glaze with green inclusions. The blue-green color may have been caused by phase-separation. Glaze streaked and mottled during firing caused spontaneously as a result of the particular glaze design, the supersaturation of the pigment in the glaze and how the glaze reacted in the kiln. When fired in an oxidizing atmosphere, the metallic oxides in the glaze came to the surface and formed the crystals. Interior and foot covered with light blue-green glaze. Unglazed footrim.

Decoration: The streaking and spotting in green and blue-green provided a bright decorative contrast with the red ground color.

Signatures/Inscriptions: Two paper labels: "1" and "88/hiku/766/116/" and two undecipherable marks.

Marking(s)

Two paper labels: "1" and "88/hiku/766/116/" and two undecipherable marks.

Label

In the vanguard of Japanese potters who adopted Western ceramic technology and materials, Takemoto Hayata was known for his flambé glazes. The complex coloration on this vase, due to a combination of planning and accident, is achieved through the use of copper.

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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