Jar

Wide-mouthed storage jar (kame) with broad, flattened upright rim on short, conical neck tapering inward, high rounded shoulder, and body tapering to narrow, flat base.

Vessel was built up in three stages, using clay coils attached to the flat base; the coils were consolidated by paddling on the exterior and smoothing with a wet cloth on the interior. Surface of entire body surface textured with cross-hatching imparted by wooden paddle, carved with cross-hatch grooves, used to consolidate (and decorate) surface. (Paddle was struck on the diagonal, so cross-hatching appears like diamond lattice.) Horizontal band impressed by finger or tool 12 cm. above base, another band 15 cm above that, probably impressed over seams between stages of coiling. Lower edge of body at base trimmed in broad bevel. Interior surface shows traces of coils partially obscured by overall horizontal wiping with coarse cloth. Flat base, bearing undulating parallel grooves, as though damp vessel had been removed from turntable and set on bed of rice straw to dry.

Clay: dense, fine-grained medium-gray clay, fired in heavy reduction or end-of-firing smudging to dark gray surface. Clay rings (fired to vitrification). On lower wall, lighter gray “shadow” with arching outline left by adjacent vessel deflecting passage of air and soot during firing. Dark gray coating worn off on some relief areas and around edge of base, and surfaces worn shiny, from prolonged use.
Glaze: none.
Decoration: none, aside from decorative effect of carved wooden paddle used to consolidate surface.
Mark: none.

Historical period(s)
Kamakura or Muromachi period, 14th-15th century
Medium
Unglazed gray stoneware
Style
Kameyama ware
Dimensions
H x Diam (overall): 44 x 46.4 cm (17 5/16 x 18 1/4 in)
Geography
Japan, Okayama prefecture, Kameyama kilns
Credit Line
Purchase — Harold P. Stern Memorial Fund
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1999.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Jar (kame)

Keywords
Japan, Kamakura period (1185 - 1333), Kameyama ware, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), stoneware
Provenance

Private Japanese collection [1]

To 1999
Leighton Longhi, New York City, to 1999

From 1999
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Leighton Longhi in 1999

Notes:

[1] This jar was in private hands in Japan until recently, and was published in the Japanese magazine Rokusho no. 23 (1997), pp. 72-73 (according to Curatorial Note 4, Louise Cort, October 6, 1998, in the object record).

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Leighton Longhi

Description

Wide-mouthed storage jar (kame) with broad, flattened upright rim on short, conical neck tapering inward, high rounded shoulder, and body tapering to narrow, flat base.

Vessel was built up in three stages, using clay coils attached to the flat base; the coils were consolidated by paddling on the exterior and smoothing with a wet cloth on the interior. Surface of entire body surface textured with cross-hatching imparted by wooden paddle, carved with cross-hatch grooves, used to consolidate (and decorate) surface. (Paddle was struck on the diagonal, so cross-hatching appears like diamond lattice.) Horizontal band impressed by finger or tool 12 cm. above base, another band 15 cm above that, probably impressed over seams between stages of coiling. Lower edge of body at base trimmed in broad bevel. Interior surface shows traces of coils partially obscured by overall horizontal wiping with coarse cloth. Flat base, bearing undulating parallel grooves, as though damp vessel had been removed from turntable and set on bed of rice straw to dry.

Clay: dense, fine-grained medium-gray clay, fired in heavy reduction or end-of-firing smudging to dark gray surface. Clay rings (fired to vitrification). On lower wall, lighter gray "shadow" with arching outline left by adjacent vessel deflecting passage of air and soot during firing. Dark gray coating worn off on some relief areas and around edge of base, and surfaces worn shiny, from prolonged use.
Glaze: none.
Decoration: none, aside from decorative effect of carved wooden paddle used to consolidate surface.
Mark: none.

Published References
  • Title unknown. no. 23 Kyoto. .
  • Nihon chusei [Japanese Medieval Period]. Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 3 Tokyo. .
  • Echizen, Suzu. Nihon no toji, kodai chusei hen (Japanese Ceramics, Ancient and Medieval), no. 5 Tokyo. .
  • Kusado Sengen-cho iseki [Remains of Kusado Sengen-machi]. vol. 215 Tokyo, April 1984. .
  • Leighton Longhi. Leighton R. Longhi: Forty-Five Years in Asian Art. New York, New York. p 343, fig 353.
Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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