Tea ceremony water jar, hitoeguchi type

Medium gray clay. Flat base trimmed concentrically, edge beveled. Single hoizontal groove incised around midpoint of body, partially hidden by glaze. Iron glaze stopping above foot on outside, just below rim on inside; color ranging from mahogany brown to opaque rust brown where thick, with iridescent surface; splashed with large patches of ash glaze that appear translucent amber, crackled; iron slip on outside wall below glaze, base, and interior. Glossy crescent-shaped area on base where piece rested on rim of larger jar.

Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1620-1624
Medium
Stoneware with iron and ash glazes; lacquered wooden lid
Style
Seto ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 16.3 × 20.4 cm (6 7/16 × 8 1/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Aichi prefecture, Seto
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1898.454a-b
On View Location
Freer Gallery 12: The Peacock Room Comes to America
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea ceremony water jar (hitoeguchi mizusashi)

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), Japan, Seto ware, stoneware, tea, water
Provenance

To 1898
Yamanaka & Company, to 1898 [1]

From 1898 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1898 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 96, 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

Medium gray clay. Flat base trimmed concentrically, edge beveled. Single hoizontal groove incised around midpoint of body, partially hidden by glaze. Iron glaze stopping above foot on outside, just below rim on inside; color ranging from mahogany brown to opaque rust brown where thick, with iridescent surface; splashed with large patches of ash glaze that appear translucent amber, crackled; iron slip on outside wall below glaze, base, and interior. Glossy crescent-shaped area on base where piece rested on rim of larger jar.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort. Seto and Mino Ceramics. Washington and Honolulu, 1992. p. 35, no. 49.
  • Robert L. Hobson, Edward S. Morse, Rose Sickler Williams. Chinese, Corean, and Japanese Potteries: Descriptive Catalogue of the Loan Exhibition. Exh. cat. New York, March 2-21, 1914. cat. 58, p. 122.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
The Story of the Beautiful
Google Cultural Institute
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