Cup

Small cup. Wheel-thrown vessel with throwing marks visible on interior. Plain rim. Base beveled. Flat bottom with string-cutting mark.
Clay: fine-grained unfused stoneware, grayish beige on surface of walls, orange-beige on foot and interior at bottom.
Decoration: Two horizontal guidelines incised, widely spaced, on wheel, the area between them filled by closely spaced vertical grooves incised by hand.

Historical period(s)
Eastern Zhou dynasty, 5th-3rd century BCE
Medium
Stoneware with remnants of slip and glaze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 6.8 x 9.4 x 9.4 cm (2 11/16 x 3 11/16 x 3 11/16 in)
Geography
China, Zhejiang province, Shaoxing
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1984.4
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Cup

Keywords
China, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE), stoneware, unglazed
Provenance

To ?
J.E. Melchior collection, Shanghai. [1]

To 1982
Helen Dalling Ling (d. 1982), Shanghai and Singapore. [2]

From 1982 to 1984
Dr. Tien Gi Ling, Singapore, by bequest from his wife, Helen Dalling Ling in May 1982. [3]

From 1984
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Dr. Tien Gi Ling, Singapore. [4]

Notes:

[1] According to Dr. Tien Gi Ling, Mrs. Helen D. Ling acquired the object from the J.E. Melchior Collection in Shanghai. Also see Curatorial Remark 4 in the object record.

[2] Helen Dalling Ling operated "The Green Dragon" antiques shop in Shanghai from 1938 to 1950 and a shop under her own name in Singapore from 1951 until her death in 1982.

[3] Helen Dalling Ling left a bequest to her husband, Dr. Tien Gi Ling on May 1982.

[4] Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Mr. Tien Gi Ling
Helen D. Ling died 1982
J.E. Melchior Collection

Description

Small cup. Wheel-thrown vessel with throwing marks visible on interior. Plain rim. Base beveled. Flat bottom with string-cutting mark.
Clay: fine-grained unfused stoneware, grayish beige on surface of walls, orange-beige on foot and interior at bottom.
Decoration: Two horizontal guidelines incised, widely spaced, on wheel, the area between them filled by closely spaced vertical grooves incised by hand.

Published References
  • Sarah Booth. The Freer's Rare Catch: Gallery Acquires 30 Flawless Ancient Chinese Ceramics. Washington, May 23, 1984. p. B2.
  • H. W. Siegel, Helen D. Ling. Early Chinese Potteries and Porcelains of the Shang, Chou, Chin, Han Dynasties: Collection of the Late J.E. Melchior. Shanghai. cat. 3.16.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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