H x W x D: 6.7 x 7.7 x 7.7 cm (2 5/8 x 3 1/16 x 3 1/16 in)
Style:
Seto ware or Kyoto ware
Type:
Vessel
Origin:
Seto or Kyoto, Aichi prefecture or Kyoto prefecture, Japan
Date:
1650-1725
Period:
Edo period
Description:
Buff clay. String-cut base. Two lugs on shoulder. One large and three small indentations evenly spaced around lower body. Cross-shaped mark incised on base. Iron glaze, appearing rust brown with gritty texture where thin, lustrous dark brown where thick. Inside unglazed.
Marks:
Incised mark: [Jap], on base, over string-cut.
Inscriptions:
The cross-shaped mark incised on the base of this jar imitates the mark allegedly used by the potter Mo'emon, sometimes identified as one of the "Six Masters of Seto" said to have been authorized by Oda Nobunaga in 1563 to use personal marks on their pieces.
Provenance:
To 1902
Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921), Kidderminster, England, to 1902 [1]
From 1902 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), given by Michael Tomkinson in 1902 [2]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1172, 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.
