Bowl, used in Japan as tea bowl

Historical period(s)
Joseon period, mid 15th century
Medium
Stoneware with white inlay under clear, pale green glaze; makie lacquer repair
Style
Buncheong ware
Dimensions
H x W: 7.8 x 17.7 cm (3 1/16 x 6 15/16 in)
Geography
Korea, Gyeongsang-do province
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1904.114
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
Buncheong ware, flower, green glaze, Joseon period (1392 - 1910), Korea, lacquer repair, stoneware, tea, white inlay
Provenance

To 1904Yamanaka & Company, New York, NY, to 1904 [1]From 1904 to 1919Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York, NY, in 1904 [2]From 1920Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]Notes:[1] Undated folder sheet note. Also see Original Pottery List, L. 1292, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.[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)

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

Label

Three Chinese characters stamped below the rim of this bowl name a Korean government office for which the work was made. Despite their intended use for serving rice or soup, some bowls of this type were exported to Japan, where they became teabowls. Tea tannin has stained the soft glaze deeply, creating a patina cherished by tea practitioners. The costly lacquer repair with relief design of autumn grasses echoes the stamped motif of wild aster flowers.

Published References

Louise Allison Cort. Korean Influences in Japanese Ceramics. vol. 15, no. 5 Hong Kong, May 1984. p. 18.Korean Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Washington, D.C. nos. 3.1, 4.3, pp. 25, 33.Stephen Weintraub, Kanya Tsujimoto, Sadae Y. Walters. Urushi and Conservation: The Use of Japanese Lacquer in the Restoration of Japanese Art. vol. 11 Washington and Ann Arbor. pp. 59-60, fig. 31.

Collection Area(s)
Korean Art
Web Resources
Korean Ceramics
Google Cultural Institute
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