Jar

Object Details

Description

Clay: white stoneware.

Glaze: colorless glaze on body; iron-oxide wash on base.

Decoration: On neck, band of "treasure" lattice. On shoulder, three mythical beasts (baize) alternating with four-pronged clouds whose centers resemble the fungus of immortality, the space filled by smaller flame-like clouds and wish-granting jewels, some enclosed by flames and others not. On upper half of body,scrolling vine enclosing four open peony blossoms. On lower body, elongated lotus-panels enclosing pendant floral motifs. Above foot, band of pendant cloud-collar forms.

Label

This tall, slender jar with cobalt decoration of lionlike mythical creatures, peony scrolls, and lotus-petal panels was made at a kiln in the Red River delta of northern Vietnam. Its place of manufacture is confirmed by recent research that has identified the locations of several pottery centers in the delta. The ceramic products of those kilns, made with the fine white local clay, were traded to markets ranging from Japan to West Asia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; this jar was recovered in Indonesia.

Provenance

From at least 1970 to 1992

Ken J.J. Baars, Surrey, England, acquired from a private collector in Southeast Asia, from at least 1970 [1]

From 1992

Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Ken J.J. Baars in 1992

Notes:

[1] Ken J.J. Baars acquired this object between 1966 and 1970, while he was working in Southeast Asia. The object was shipped to Holland in 1970 (see Curatorial Note 6 in the object record).

Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Exhibition History

Vietnam's Ceramics: Depth and Diversity (July 11, 2015 - July 10, 2016)

Vietnamese Ceramics from the Red River Delta (July 10, 2005 to November 15, 2009)

America Meets Asia at the Freer Gallery of Art (May 9, 1993 to June 2, 1998)

Previous custodian or owner

Ken J. J. Baars

Credit Line

Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of Asian Arts and the Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program

15th century

Period

Later Le dynasty

Accession Number

F1992.12

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Vessel

Medium

Stoneware with cobalt pigment under clear glaze; iron pigment on base

Dimensions

H x W x D: 37 x 23.5 x 23.5 cm (14 9/16 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 in)

Origin

Red River Delta kilns, Hai Duong province, Vietnam

On View

Freer East Corridor: Looking Out, Looking In: The Art of Late Imperial China

Related Online Resources

Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia

Google Cultural Institute

NMAA Southeast Asia

See more items in

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic

ceramic

flower

peony

Vietnam

Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1527)

stoneware

Southeast Asian Art

Record ID

fsg_F1992.12

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3fd8c9962-8780-48c4-bff0-26c3df75b96d