Flat-sided sake flask

Label Text

Freer acquired this "very fine" flat- sided flask from Y. Fujita and Company in 1903. An example of Japanese Takatori ware (pottery made in the Fukuoka Prefecture), it dates to the Edo period. This flask was likely used for tea ceremonies, in keeping with the tea bowls and caddies that are also associated with Takatori ware. This vessel's precise light grey finish was likely achieved by glazing the clay with iron in the kiln. In the Peacock Room, Freer grouped it with a rather varied array of East Asian ceramics, including a number of similarly dark glazed specimens.

Object Name

Bottle

Ware

Takatori ware

Dated

mid 19th century

Period

Edo period

Medium

Stoneware with iron glaze

Dimensions

HxW: 20.6 x 14.6 cm

Locale

Nishi Sarayama kiln

Country

Japan

Credit Line

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Iteration

2

Shelf Number

5

Wall

North

Title

Flat-sided sake flask

Object Number

F1903.55

Freer Source

Y. Fujita and Company

Freer Source City

Kyoto

Freer Source Country

Japan

Image

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1903.55.jpg

Collection

Citation

"Flat-sided sake flask," in The Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Accession No. F1903.55, Item #3077, http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/items/show/3077 (accessed March 28, 2024).