Cup wall and rim (fragment)

Shape: Fragment of the wall and mouth of a green-glazed stoneware bowl. The mouth is everted and unglazed on the very top. Thickness of the bowl wall varies from 0.6 cm near the base to 0.3 cm just below the mouth.

Clay: Very fine, white, porcelaneous clay with a few dark inclusions and a modest number of small air pockets.

Glaze: The outside of the bowl is covered with a rich green glaze while the inside is coated with a clear glaze which shades to a delicate seawater green where it is thicker. Both glazes are uncrackled and of high quality. Judging from the pooling of the outside green glaze below the mouthrim and the relatively thicker coating of the inside of the bowl closer to the mouth, it appears that this bowl was one of two fired mouth to mouth, this having been the bowl on top. The green glaze on the outside shows a few spots where small particles of iron fired very dark and “bled” in the direction of the glaze flow (i.e., toward the mouth of the bowl).

Decoration: Two horizontal incised rings cirle the bowl approximately 0.6 – 0.8 cm below the mouth. Impressed grooves radiate upward from the foot and cover the top three-quarters of the outside of the bowl wall. The inside of the bowl is glazed but undecorated. The green glaze is much thicker in the depressions formed by these grooves, creating the impression of pronounced fluting.

Marks: None.

Historical period(s)
Later Le dynasty, 16th century
Medium
Stoneware with copper-green and clear glazes
Dimensions
H x W x D: 1.7 x 6.7 x 6.2 cm (11/16 x 2 5/8 x 2 7/16 in)
Geography
Vietnam, Hai Duong province, Red River Delta kilns
Credit Line
Gift of John A. Pope
Collection
Freer Study Collection
Accession Number
FSC-P-440
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Cup (fragment)

Keywords
Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1527), stoneware, Vietnam
Provenance

To 1957
Abu Ridho, Jakarta, Indonesia. [1]

1957
John A. Pope (1906-1982), Washington DC, gift of Abu Ridho, Jakarta, Indonesia. [2]

From 1957
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of John A. Pope, Washington DC [3]

Notes:

[1] See Curatorial Remarks 2 and 3 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See note 1. See also object file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Dr. John Alexander Pope 1906-1982
Abu Ridho born 1927

Description

Shape: Fragment of the wall and mouth of a green-glazed stoneware bowl. The mouth is everted and unglazed on the very top. Thickness of the bowl wall varies from 0.6 cm near the base to 0.3 cm just below the mouth.

Clay: Very fine, white, porcelaneous clay with a few dark inclusions and a modest number of small air pockets.

Glaze: The outside of the bowl is covered with a rich green glaze while the inside is coated with a clear glaze which shades to a delicate seawater green where it is thicker. Both glazes are uncrackled and of high quality. Judging from the pooling of the outside green glaze below the mouthrim and the relatively thicker coating of the inside of the bowl closer to the mouth, it appears that this bowl was one of two fired mouth to mouth, this having been the bowl on top. The green glaze on the outside shows a few spots where small particles of iron fired very dark and "bled" in the direction of the glaze flow (i.e., toward the mouth of the bowl).

Decoration: Two horizontal incised rings cirle the bowl approximately 0.6 - 0.8 cm below the mouth. Impressed grooves radiate upward from the foot and cover the top three-quarters of the outside of the bowl wall. The inside of the bowl is glazed but undecorated. The green glaze is much thicker in the depressions formed by these grooves, creating the impression of pronounced fluting.

Marks: None.

Collection Area(s)
Southeast Asian Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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