Jar with burnished red slip

Jar with elongated narrow neck and pouch-shaped mouth defined by three tiers of horizontal relief ribs at shoulder, mid-neck, and rim; coarse yellowish clay coated with red earth and burnished in verical stripes on the neck.

Historical period(s)
Yayoi period, 1st century
Medium
Earthenware clay with burnished red slip
Style
Yayoi ware, Sugu type
Dimensions
H x W x D: 32.4 x 21.7 x 21.7 cm (12 3/4 x 8 9/16 x 8 9/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Fukuoka prefecture, Fukuoka city, Jonoharu site
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1982.31a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar

Keywords
earthenware, Japan, red slip, Yayoi period (400 B.C.E - 250 CE), Yayoi ware, Sugu type
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Jar with elongated narrow neck and pouch-shaped mouth defined by three tiers of horizontal relief ribs at shoulder, mid-neck, and rim; coarse yellowish clay coated with red earth and burnished in verical stripes on the neck.

Inscription(s)

1. (L.A. Cort, 1982) The new box that accompanies this jar bears the following inscriptions on the lid:

(front) Yayoi tsubo ...... tan nuri (Yayoi narrow-necked jar ... red painted)

(back) Fukuoka-shi Jonoharu shutsudo to tsutau (Said to have been excavated from Jonoharu, Fukuoka City). (^j^).

Label

This elegant jar with its understated decoration, including vertical stripes polished into the red coating, is typical of jars thought to have been made for ritual rather than practical purposes.  Most jars of the type are excavated from burial sites and seem to have been used in the burial rites.  They are found only in northern Kyushu and western Honshu.  This jar came from the Jonoharu site within the modern city of Fukuoka.

Published References
  • Seizō Hayashiya. A Selection of One Hundred Ceramic Jars. Tokyo. pl. 2.
  • Fujioka Ryoichi. Chisel, Wheel, and Brush over Twelve Centuries: Masterpieces of Japanese Art Over Twelve Centuries. Exh. cat. London, October 1981. cat. 15.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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