Fragment of base, wall, and mouthrim of a low bowl

Shape: Approximately 40 percent of the mouthrim, wall, and foot of a 3.5 cm-high bowl. Wheel thrown. The bowl wall varies in thickness from 0.3 – 0.6 cm. The foot is slightly convex on the base inside the carved footring. The footring is carved in such a manner that only the inner edge rests on the ground.

Clay: Relatively fine gray clay with many small and a few large air pockets; few inclusions.

Glaze: Moderately crackled clear glaze with a slight olive hue. The glaze displays many pinholes left by gasses escaping during firing. Both the foot and the mirror of the original bowl were left unglazed in order to facilitate stacking during firing. A light gray slip was painted on the bottom of the footring, apparently to help control glaze flow and prevent the stacked bowls from sticking to one another.

Decoration: None.

Marks: None.

Historical period(s)
Yuan or Ming dynasty, 14th century
Medium
Stoneware with celadon glaze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 3.5 x 12 x 6.8 cm (1 3/8 x 4 3/4 x 2 11/16 in)
Geography
China, Fujian province
Credit Line
Gift of John A. Pope
Collection
Freer Study Collection
Accession Number
FSC-P-454
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl (fragment)

Keywords
China, Guangdong ware, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), stoneware, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)
Provenance

To 1957
John A. Pope (1906-1982), Washington DC, collected between August 1956 and April 1957 in Angkor, Cambodia. [1]

From 1957
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of John A. Pope, Washington DC [2]

Notes:

[1] See Curatorial Remark 3 in the object record. See also “Ceramics in Mainland and Southeast Asia: Collections in the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery”, copy in object file, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1. See also object file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Dr. John Alexander Pope 1906-1982

Description

Shape: Approximately 40 percent of the mouthrim, wall, and foot of a 3.5 cm-high bowl. Wheel thrown. The bowl wall varies in thickness from 0.3 - 0.6 cm. The foot is slightly convex on the base inside the carved footring. The footring is carved in such a manner that only the inner edge rests on the ground.

Clay: Relatively fine gray clay with many small and a few large air pockets; few inclusions.

Glaze: Moderately crackled clear glaze with a slight olive hue. The glaze displays many pinholes left by gasses escaping during firing. Both the foot and the mirror of the original bowl were left unglazed in order to facilitate stacking during firing. A light gray slip was painted on the bottom of the footring, apparently to help control glaze flow and prevent the stacked bowls from sticking to one another.

Decoration: None.

Marks: None.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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