Small bowl with overglaze decoration

Bowl, ovoidal with slightly everted lip; thin basal ring. Ivory stand. Clay: thin, translucent. Glaze: white. Decoration: Plum blossoms in reserve in a ground of raspberry-red enamel; details in black and yellow enamels. The base of the bowl bears a four-character overglaze blue enamel mark framed in a double-outlined square that read “Yongzheng nianzhi.”

Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, Yongzheng period, Yongzheng reign mark and period, 1723-1735
Medium
Porcelain with colorless glaze and overglaze enamel decoration and mark
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 5.3 x 10.2 cm (2 1/16 x 4 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1934.2a-g
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
China, falangcai, Jingdezhen ware, plum blossom, porcelain, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
Provenance

From at least 1932 to 1934
William E. Glyn, New York and Newport, from at least March 1932 [1]

From 1934
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased through Yamanaka and Company, New York from William E. Glyn in January 1934 [2]

Notes:

[1] The object had been consigned by William E. Glyn of New York and Newport to the Yamanaka and Company, New York by March 1932, see letter from K. Tanaka, Yamanaka and Company, New York to John E. Lodge, Freer Gallery of Art, March 12, 1932, copy in object file. It was sent to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration in April that year, see “List of Objects Contemplated for Purchase by the Freer Gallery of Art,” approved on April 12, 1932, in Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List After 1920 file, copy in object file.

[2] The object was acquired and formally accessioned to the Freer Gallery of Art’s collection in January 1934.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

William E. Glyn

Description

Bowl, ovoidal with slightly everted lip; thin basal ring. Ivory stand. Clay: thin, translucent. Glaze: white. Decoration: Plum blossoms in reserve in a ground of raspberry-red enamel; details in black and yellow enamels. The base of the bowl bears a four-character overglaze blue enamel mark framed in a double-outlined square that read "Yongzheng nianzhi."

Marking(s)

4-character blue enamel mark over colorless glaze written inside double-outline square; reads "Yongzheng nianzhi."

Label

Plum blossoms, which symbolize beauty and resoluteness, are a popular motif on ceramics. The surface of this Qing-dynasty bowl from the Jingdezhen imperial kilns is covered with a dense design of plum blossoms, delineated in the "Outline" method. The blossoms sparkle against the ruby-colored background, providing an interesting comparison with the painting by Yansou.

Published References
  • Sekai toji zenshu [Catalogue of the World's Ceramics]. 16 vols, Tokyo, 1955-1958. vol. 12: pl. 79.
  • Hugh M. Moss. By Imperial Command: An Introduction to Ch'ing Imperial Painted Enamels. 2 vols., Hong Kong. vol. 1: p. 75, pl. 56.
  • Toki Zenshu. 32 vols., Tokyo, 1957 - 1963. pl. 32.
  • Hai wai i chen [Chinese Art in Overseas Collections]. Taipei, 1985. vol. 3: p. 191.
  • Louise Allison Cort, Jan Stuart, Laurence Chi-Sing Tam. Joined Colors: Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain : Ceramics from Collectors in the Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong. Exh. cat. Washington and Hong Kong, 1993. p. 34, fig. 2.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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