Tea caddy made for the court of Rama V

Tea caddy with short upright neck, nearly horizontal shoulder, cylindrical body, and flat base; matching cylindrical lid with flat top.
Clay: porcelain.
Glaze: clear, colorless glaze.
Decoration: in cobalt pigment under the glaze, with design on vertical faces of lid and vessel of scattered Chinese coins, framed above and below by floral borders; on shoulder of vessel, four bats.
Mark: on base of vessel and top of lid: Jintang Faji.

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Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, late 19th century
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear, colorless glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam (overall): 11.5 Ɨ 8.2 cm (4 1/2 Ɨ 3 1/4 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Jingdezhen kilns
Credit Line
Gift from Doris Duke's Southeast Asian Art Collection
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F2004.36a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Tea caddy

Keywords
bat, China, clear glaze, cobalt pigment, flower, Jingdezhen ware, porcelain, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), tea
Provenance

By 1974
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, New York City, acquired in Thailand, by 1974 [1]

From 2004
Freer Gallery of Art, given by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in 2004

Notes:

[1] This object was acquired by Doris Duke as part of a large collection of Southeast Asian art intended for use in a recreation of a Thai village to be built in Hawai'i. This project is described in Nancy Tingley, Doris Duke: The Southeast Asian Art Collection (New York: The Foundation for Southeast Asian Art and Culture, distributed by University of Hawai'i Press, 2003). Ms. Duke made purchasing trips to Bangkok in 1961, 1964, and 1965. In 1972 the collections were shipped to the Duke estate in New Jersey. Additional buying trips in 1973 and 1974 were the last major occasions to acquire art for the project, which was never realized. While the dates the purchase of this object cannot be confirmed, it is probable that it was acquired in the early phase of shopping, in the 1960s (according to Curatorial Note 5, Louise A. Cort, April 5, 2004, in the object record).

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Established 1996

Description

Tea caddy with short upright neck, nearly horizontal shoulder, cylindrical body, and flat base; matching cylindrical lid with flat top.
Clay: porcelain.
Glaze: clear, colorless glaze.
Decoration: in cobalt pigment under the glaze, with design on vertical faces of lid and vessel of scattered Chinese coins, framed above and below by floral borders; on shoulder of vessel, four bats.
Mark: on base of vessel and top of lid: Jintang Faji.

Marking(s)

On base of vessel and top of lid: Jintang Faji.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort, George Williams, David P. Rehfuss. Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia. Washington. .
  • Nancy Tingley. Doris Duke: The Southeast Asian Art Collection. New York. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia
Google Cultural Institute
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