Fragment, possibly from shoulder of a small bottle or ewer

Shape: Fragment of a small bottle, ewer, or jar, possibly from the shoulder area. The shard wall is 0.5 cm thick.

Clay: Very fine, light-colored, almost porcelaneous clay. No air pockets but many, very fine dark inclusions. The main fracture line of the shard reveals several large inclusions of reddish-brown, unvitrified sandy material.

Glaze: Clear, pale seawater-green glaze which allows the white body to show through. The uncrackled glaze is darker where it is thicker over the incised decoration. The original pot was glazed both inside and out.

Decoration: Underglaze incised and combed design elements from an unidentifiable motif.

Marks: None.

Historical period(s)
Southern Song dynasty, 12th century
Medium
Porcelain with translucent bluish (qingbai) glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 1 x 6.8 x 1.8 cm (3/8 x 2 11/16 x 11/16 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Gift of John A. Pope
Collection
Freer Study Collection
Accession Number
FSC-P-443
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bottle or ewer (fragment)

Keywords
China, Jingdezhen ware, porcelain, Southern Song dynasty (1127 - 1279)
Provenance

To 1957
John A. Pope (1906-1982), Washington DC, collected between August 1956 and April 1957 in Angkor, Cambodia. [1]

From 1957
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of John A. Pope, Washington DC [2]

Notes:

[1] See Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record. See also “Ceramics in Mainland and Southeast Asia: Collections in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery”, copy in object file, Collections Management Office.

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

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Dr. John Alexander Pope 1906-1982

Description

Shape: Fragment of a small bottle, ewer, or jar, possibly from the shoulder area. The shard wall is 0.5 cm thick.

Clay: Very fine, light-colored, almost porcelaneous clay. No air pockets but many, very fine dark inclusions. The main fracture line of the shard reveals several large inclusions of reddish-brown, unvitrified sandy material.

Glaze: Clear, pale seawater-green glaze which allows the white body to show through. The uncrackled glaze is darker where it is thicker over the incised decoration. The original pot was glazed both inside and out.

Decoration: Underglaze incised and combed design elements from an unidentifiable motif.

Marks: None.

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