Sanage ware jar

Jar with high shoulder and globular form, low straight lip, and spreading foot.
Clay: coarse brownish-gray stoneware.
Glaze: “natural”; that is, occurring accidentally in those areas covered by ash in firing.
Decoration: none.

Historical period(s)
Nara period, 760-780
Medium
Stoneware with accidental ash glaze
Style
Sanage ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 20 x 24 x 24 cm (7 7/8 x 9 7/16 x 9 7/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Aichi prefecture
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1970.4
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar

Keywords
Japan, Nara period (645 - 794), Sanage ware, stoneware, wood-ash glaze
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Jar with high shoulder and globular form, low straight lip, and spreading foot.
Clay: coarse brownish-gray stoneware.
Glaze: "natural"; that is, occurring accidentally in those areas covered by ash in firing.
Decoration: none.

Label

The shapes of Chinese Tang-dynasty lead-glazed jars inspired imitations in Japan. This distinctive Tang shape appears in the rare Japanese lead-glazed wares, in Sue ware, and in the intentionally glazed ware that was beginning to be made at kilns in the Sanage district, near modern Nagoya. This unglazed Sanage ware jar bears areas of accidental ash glaze on the upper surfaces, formed by deposits of wood ash during the firing. Originally this jar had a cap-like lid, with knob handle, that fit over the short neck.

Published References
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 43.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Thomas Lawton, Harold P. Stern. The Freer Gallery of Art. 2 vols., Washington and Tokyo, 1971-1972. cat. 119, vol. 2: p. 182.
  • Julia Murray. A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980. Exh. cat. Washington, 1979. cat. 65, p. 87.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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