Jar

Jar (hu): ovoidal, with trumpet-shaped mouth; two open handles; recessed foot. Stoneware with green glaze.
Clay: hard, gray. Reddish-brown on surface.
Glaze: lustrous olive on shoulder and inside neck.
Decorations: corrugated encircling lines, and wave designs incised in paste. “X” mark at base of neck. Cf. F1909.299.

Historical period(s)
Western Han dynasty, 1st century BCE
Medium
Stoneware with wood-ash glaze
Dimensions
H x W: 22.9 x 19.1 cm (9 x 7 1/2 in)
Geography
China, Zhejiang province
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1910.15
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar (hu)

Keywords
China, stoneware, Western Han dynasty (206 BCE - 9 CE)
Provenance

To 1910
Yamanaka & Company, to 1910 [1]

From 1910 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1910 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 2008, Freer Galley 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

Jar (hu): ovoidal, with trumpet-shaped mouth; two open handles; recessed foot. Stoneware with green glaze.
Clay: hard, gray. Reddish-brown on surface.
Glaze: lustrous olive on shoulder and inside neck.
Decorations: corrugated encircling lines, and wave designs incised in paste. "X" mark at base of neck. Cf. F1909.299.

Published References
  • Yutaka Mino, Katherine R. Tsiang. Ice and Green Clouds: Traditions of Chinese Celadon. Exh. cat. Indianapolis. no. 12.
  • Dr. Berthold Laufer, H. W. Nichols. The Beginnings of Porcelain in China: With a Technical Report by H. W. Nichols. Anthropological series, vol. 15, no 2 Chicago. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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