Object Details
Artist
Mark of Soi (active early 17th century)
Description
Buff clay, darkened on surface by use. Concave base. Two lugs. White slip extending slightly below clear glaze. Under-glaze iron painted decoration over shoulder and much of body, showing brush strokes; on one side, flying geese and pattern resembling "tie-dyed" textile, painted in reserve; on opposite side, vertical faceting and incising. Potter's mark incised on base: ideogram for "well" (i). Inside unglazed.
Marks
Potter's mark incised on the base: ideogram for "well."
Label
Production of glazed stoneware ceramics within Kyoto is said to have begun in 1624, when a potter from Seto was brought to the city to set up a workshop. Early Kyoto ceramics imitated popular styles of tea utensils made in Seto and other regional kilns or imported from Korea. This tea caddy, decorated in the style of Oribe ware from Mino, bears on its base an incised mark of the Japanese character for "well." According to later texts, this mark was used by an early Kyoto potter named Soi. Because the printed information about such marks became the basis for nineteenth-century imitations, the date of this and other tea caddies bearing Soi's mark remains uncertain.
Provenance
To 1901
Siegfried Bing (1838-1905), Paris to 1901 [1]
From 1901 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Siegfried Bing, Paris in 1901
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 935, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
[2] See note 1.
[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History
The Potter's Mark: Tea Ceramics and Their Makers (August 18, 2007 to February 24, 2008)
Previous custodian or owner
Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Date
1650-1675 or 1800-1830
Period
Edo period
Accession Number
F1901.56a-b
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Vessel
Medium
Stoneware with iron pigment under clear glaze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 8.2 x 4.7 x 4.7 cm (3 1/4 x 1 7/8 x 1 7/8 in)
Style
Kyoto ware
Origin
Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture, Japan
Related Online Resources
Google Arts & Culture
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
ceramic
goose
Kyoto ware
Seto ware
Edo period (1615 - 1868)
tea
fungus
Japan
stoneware
Japanese Art
Charles Lang Freer collection
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_F1901.56a-b