Tripod bowl with wooden stand

Basin shaped tripod, with shallow body slightly everted, with a broad flanged lip rim, flat base and resting on three arabesque shaped short legs. The sides of the basin are fluted.

With a hardwood stand, carved in the design of three crossed and reribboned ruyi (wish-granting) scepters.

Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign mark and period, 1736-1795
Medium
Porcelain clay with "teadust" glaze; hardwood stand
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 6.7 x 20.6 cm (2 5/8 x 8 1/8 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1994.3a-b
On View Location
Freer Gallery 13: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
China, Jingdezhen ware, porcelain, Qianlong reign (1736 - 1796), Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
Provenance

To 1952
Alice Boney, New York. [1]

From 1952 to ?
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., New York purchased from Alice Boney, New York. [2]

From ? to ?
Charles Savage, purchased from Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., New York. [3]

From ? to ?
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., New York purchased from Charles Savage. [4]

From ? to ?
Unknown collector, purchased from Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., New York. [5]

From ? to 1994
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., New York purchased from an unknown collector. [6]

From 1994
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., New York. [7]

Notes:

[1] See letter from Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc. dated February 8, 1994, copy in object file, Collections Management Office. This letter details the object’s history from the year 1952 when it first came into the possession of Ralph M. Chait Galleries.

[2] According to Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc. the object was purchased from Alice Boney in 1952. See note 1.

[3] See note 1.

[4] See note 1.

[5] According to statement dated Feb 8, 1994, after Mr. Savage gave up collection and sold the piece back to Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., the gallery then sold the piece to an American collector. See letter dated Feb 8, 1994, copy in object file, Collections Management Office.

[6] See note 1 and 5.

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

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc.
Charles Savage
Alice Boney 1901-1988

Description

Basin shaped tripod, with shallow body slightly everted, with a broad flanged lip rim, flat base and resting on three arabesque shaped short legs. The sides of the basin are fluted.

With a hardwood stand, carved in the design of three crossed and reribboned ruyi (wish-granting) scepters.

Inscription(s)

Underside bears an unglazed impressed imperial six-character Qianlong mark reading "Da Qing Qianlong Nian Zhi" meaning "made during the reign of the Qianlong emperor of the Great Qing dynasty."

Label

During the eighteenth century, potters at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen created extraordinary new monochrome glazes, among them the teadust glaze of this porcelain basin. The color is achieved by underfiring a glaze that contains iron oxide as the sole colorant; the greater the concentration of iron, the darker the color. In shape, decoration, and coloring, this ceramic vessel playfully alludes to some of the archaic bronze vessels that the Qianlong emperor was fond of collecting. This emperor was renowned for his territorial expansion of China and his strong patronage of the arts. Sitting on a custom-made stand, which is probably original, the basin is set off and can thus be appreciated today in the manner the original audience would have. Paintings that show the interior of the Qianlong emperor's palace reveal that he liked to arrange many ceramics on stands in curio cabinets.

Published References
  • Wen C. Fong, Jerome Silbergeld. Bridges to Heaven: Essays on East Asian Art in honor of Professor Wen C. Fong. 2 volume set, Princeton. .
  • History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011. Exh. cat. p. 53, fig. 32.
  • Nicholas R. Bell, Ulysses Grant Dietz, Andrew Wagner. 2011 Renwick Craft Invitational: History in the Making. Washington. p. 53, fig. 32.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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