“Ginger jar” with cover

Cobalt decoration under colorless glaze. Crenellated border design at neck. Cracked ice diaper background with decoration of prunus branches with blossoms, ending in a double blue line at base above foot. Mouth and foot rims unglazed.

Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, 1662-1722
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam (assembled): 26 × 20.9 cm (10 1/4 × 8 1/4 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1995.3.2a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar

Keywords
China, cobalt pigment, Jingdezhen ware, plum blossom, porcelain, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
Provenance

To ?
Leonard Gow (1859-1936), Glasgow, Scotland. [1]

To 1951
Mr. Alfred H. and Mrs. Margaret M. Caspary. [2]

From 1951 to 1995
Philadelphia Museum of Art, gift of Alfred and Margaret Caspary. [3]

From 1995
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. [4]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See note 1.

[4] The jar was deaccessioned from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection through a sale initiated in late 1994, when the Freer Gallery of Art purchased it. See note 1. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Margaret M. Caspary died 1953
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Leonard Gow 1859-1936
Alfred H. Caspary 1877-1955

Description

Cobalt decoration under colorless glaze. Crenellated border design at neck. Cracked ice diaper background with decoration of prunus branches with blossoms, ending in a double blue line at base above foot. Mouth and foot rims unglazed.

Inscription(s)

Old labels on base of body: oval paper label, "The Leonard Gow Collection, #33" (two of these); "Chinese Exhibition Manchester, 1936 Art Gallery 6572"; and "Royal Academy of Arts, London. International Exhibition of Chinese Art, 1935-6. ser. nos 1542, owner Dr. Leonard Gow Herensburgh."

Published References
  • Royal Academy of Arts. Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, 1935-36. Exh. cat. London. cat. 1797.
  • Robert L. Hobson. The Later Ceramic Wares of China: Being the blue and white, famille verte, famille rose, monochromes, etc., of the K'ang Hsi, Yung Chêng, Ch'ien Lung and other periods of the Ch'ing dynasty. London. pl. II.
  • Robert L. Hobson. Catalogue of the Leonard Gow Collection. pl. XIV.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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