Jar

Clay: white stoneware.
Glaze: colorless glaze on body; iron-oxide wash on base.
Decoration: On neck, band of “treasure” lattice. On shoulder, three mythical beasts (baize) alternating with four-pronged clouds whose centers resemble the fungus of immortality, the space filled by smaller flame-like clouds and wish-granting jewels, some enclosed by flames and others not. On upper half of body,scrolling vine enclosing four open peony blossoms. On lower body, elongated lotus-panels enclosing pendant floral motifs. Above foot, band of pendant cloud-collar forms.

Historical period(s)
Later Le dynasty, 15th century
Medium
Stoneware with cobalt pigment under clear glaze; iron pigment on base
Dimensions
H x W x D: 37 x 23.5 x 23.5 cm (14 9/16 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 in)
Geography
Vietnam, Hai Duong province, Red River Delta kilns
Credit Line
Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of Asian Arts and the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1992.12
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar

Keywords
flower, Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1527), peony, stoneware, Vietnam
Provenance

From at least 1970 to 1992
Ken J.J. Baars, Surrey, England, acquired from a private collector in Southeast Asia, from at least 1970 [1]

From 1992
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Ken J.J. Baars in 1992

Notes:

[1] Ken J.J. Baars acquired this object between 1966 and 1970, while he was working in Southeast Asia. The object was shipped to Holland in 1970 (see Curatorial Note 6 in the object record).

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Ken J.J. Baars

Description

Clay: white stoneware.
Glaze: colorless glaze on body; iron-oxide wash on base.
Decoration: On neck, band of "treasure" lattice. On shoulder, three mythical beasts (baize) alternating with four-pronged clouds whose centers resemble the fungus of immortality, the space filled by smaller flame-like clouds and wish-granting jewels, some enclosed by flames and others not. On upper half of body,scrolling vine enclosing four open peony blossoms. On lower body, elongated lotus-panels enclosing pendant floral motifs. Above foot, band of pendant cloud-collar forms.

Label

This tall, slender jar with cobalt decoration of lionlike mythical creatures, peony scrolls, and lotus-petal panels was made at a kiln in the Red River delta of northern Vietnam. Its place of manufacture is confirmed by recent research that has identified the locations of several pottery centers in the delta. The ceramic products of those kilns, made with the fine white local clay, were traded to markets ranging from Japan to West Asia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; this jar was recovered in Indonesia.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort, George Williams, David P. Rehfuss. Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia. Washington. .
  • Dean Frasché. Southeast Asian Ceramics: Ninth through Seventeenth Centuries. New York. cat. 82.
  • Louise Allison Cort. In Search of Ceramics in Vietnam. Washington, Winter 1994. p. 44, fig. 1.
  • Milo Cleveland Beach. The Freer Gallery of Art. vol. 24, no. 5 Hong Kong, May 1993. p. 72, fig. 12.
  • The Porcelains of Jingdezhen. Exh. cat. London. pp. 101-121.
  • Ideals of Beauty: Asian and American Art in the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Thames and Hudson World of Art London and Washington, 2010. pp. 172-173.
Collection Area(s)
Southeast Asian Art
Web Resources
Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia
Google Cultural Institute
F|S Southeast Asia
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