Peach-shaped bowl with frog on rim

Hemispherical bowl in shape of peach with two small handles and blue, green and brown glazes. One handle is formed by a frog and the other by a branch and leaf. Where the frog appears to enter the bowl and where the branch is attached to the bowl, the sides are slightly concave. Trimmed foot forms short, visible footring on which the cup rests.

Clay: Porcelain, footrim darkened on surface by use.

Glaze: Pink (copper) pigment applied to exterior, around the rim and interior edge. Underglaze blue (cobalt) applied to exterior of bowl under frog. Blue appears blown onto surface of bowl and faint traces of blue dust detected on interior of bowl. Frog and leaf glazed with brown, pink, and green pigments. Colorless glaze applied over pigments on exterior and on interior and foot of bowl. Unglazed footrim.

Decoration: The shape and decoration of this bowl are meant to recall that of a peach. The peach leaf and branch are its stem. The frog adds a whimsical and novel element.

Signatures/Inscriptions: Paper label: “CMK 6”

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Historical period(s)
Meiji era, ca. 1893-1899
Medium
Porcelain with underglaze pigments
Dimensions
H x W x D: 7.6 x 11.5 x 11.5 cm (3 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Bequest of Isabel S. Kurtz
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1991.41
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
frog, 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 3 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

Hemispherical bowl in shape of peach with two small handles and blue, green and brown glazes. One handle is formed by a frog and the other by a branch and leaf. Where the frog appears to enter the bowl and where the branch is attached to the bowl, the sides are slightly concave. Trimmed foot forms short, visible footring on which the cup rests.

Clay: Porcelain, footrim darkened on surface by use.

Glaze: Pink (copper) pigment applied to exterior, around the rim and interior edge. Underglaze blue (cobalt) applied to exterior of bowl under frog. Blue appears blown onto surface of bowl and faint traces of blue dust detected on interior of bowl. Frog and leaf glazed with brown, pink, and green pigments. Colorless glaze applied over pigments on exterior and on interior and foot of bowl. Unglazed footrim.

Decoration: The shape and decoration of this bowl are meant to recall that of a peach. The peach leaf and branch are its stem. The frog adds a whimsical and novel element.

Signatures/Inscriptions: Paper label: "CMK 6"

Marking(s)

Paper label: "CMK 6"

Label

Introduction of Western pigments in the 1870s enabled porcelain decorators to use colors like artists' pigments. They also developed such techniques as blowing on the pigments to create a soft, watercolor-like effect.

This bowl 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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