Minqing ware bowl, possibly used in Japan as a tea bowl

Bowl, flaring, with heavy, thickened lip; low foot, beveled edge.
Clay: dense, resonant white porcelain, stained and dirty on exposed surface.
Glaze: originally white. Gray appearance where stained in abrasions, expecially on running drops. Stops in irregular line well short of foot.

Historical period(s)
Northern Song dynasty, late 11th-early 12th century
Medium
Porcelain with translucent glaze
Style
Minqing ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 6.7 × 16.5 cm (2 5/8 × 6 1/2 in)
Geography
China, Fujian province, Minqing county, Fuzhou, Minqing kilns
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1897.69
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
China, Minqing ware, Northern Song dynasty (960 - 1127), porcelain
Provenance

To 1897
Yamanaka & Company, to 1897 [1]

From 1897 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1897 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 511, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Yamanaka and Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1917-1965

Description

Bowl, flaring, with heavy, thickened lip; low foot, beveled edge.
Clay: dense, resonant white porcelain, stained and dirty on exposed surface.
Glaze: originally white. Gray appearance where stained in abrasions, expecially on running drops. Stops in irregular line well short of foot.

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