Vase

Vase with short, straight neck and thin rim. High, flattened shoulders and short, bulbous-shaped body tapers into tall flared stem and tapered foot trimmed to create footring.

Clay: Porcelain, footrim slightly darkened on surface by use. Rim of vase is chipped in one place.

Glaze: Brown glaze applied to interior, lip and rim. Blue glaze applied to exterior and foot. Dark brown glaze was applied over the blue and allowed to run arbitrarily down the sides of the vase. The rim is white as a result of the glaze pulling away and running down into the interior. A transmutation glaze in which the brown and blue glazes have combined. Green pigments in the glaze were produced spontaneously as a result of the particular glaze design and how it reacted in the kiln during firing. Unglazed footrim.

Decoration: The mingling of the blue and brown glazes, together with the areas of green, provide decoration.

Signatures/Inscriptions: Paper label: “112”.

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Historical period(s)
Meiji era, ca. 1900
Medium
Porcelain with blue and dark brown glazes
Dimensions
H x W x D: 12.7 x 8.3 x 8.3 cm (5 x 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Bequest of Isabel S. Kurtz
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1991.33
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vase

Keywords
Japan, Meiji era (1868 - 1912), porcelain
Provenance

To ?
Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909). [1]

To 1991
Isabel S. Kurtz (1901-1991). [2]

From 1991
Freer Gallery of Art, bequest of Isabel S. Kurtz (1901-1991). [3]

Notes:

[1] Ms. Isabel Kurtz bequeathed the group of Asian ceramics, F1991.19-.44, to the Freer Gallery of Art. These objects had been collected by her father, Charles M. Kurtz, who was a friend of Charles Freer. Also see Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.

[2] See note 1. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

[3] See note 2.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles M. Kurtz 1855-1909
Isabel S. Kurtz 1901-1991

Description

Vase with short, straight neck and thin rim. High, flattened shoulders and short, bulbous-shaped body tapers into tall flared stem and tapered foot trimmed to create footring.

Clay: Porcelain, footrim slightly darkened on surface by use. Rim of vase is chipped in one place.

Glaze: Brown glaze applied to interior, lip and rim. Blue glaze applied to exterior and foot. Dark brown glaze was applied over the blue and allowed to run arbitrarily down the sides of the vase. The rim is white as a result of the glaze pulling away and running down into the interior. A transmutation glaze in which the brown and blue glazes have combined. Green pigments in the glaze were produced spontaneously as a result of the particular glaze design and how it reacted in the kiln during firing. Unglazed footrim.

Decoration: The mingling of the blue and brown glazes, together with the areas of green, provide decoration.

Signatures/Inscriptions: Paper label: "112".

Marking(s)

Paper label: "112".

Label

This vase was part of a collection formed by Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909), during the period when he served as assistant art director for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and art director for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Centennial International Exposition in St. Louis. Kurtz's collecting focused on porcelain with highly colored glazed. Along with these pieces by prominent Japanese potters, Kurtz acquired vases of similar shapes and colors from American and European factories. Kurtz's collection, representative of a broad popular interest in Japanese art in the late nineteenth century, also reflects the growing internationalism in the decoration of ceramics resulting from rapid exchange of information and technology facilitated by the international fairs.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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