Tomb jar

Tomb jar

An oxidized, iridescent patina resulting from disintegration of the glaze adds to the surface complexity of this Eastern Han dynasty tomb jar. Dated to first- to the early-third-century China, it was purchased by Freer in 1905, from the New York store of Yamanaka and Company. He was probably less interested in its cultural origins than in its aesthetic qualities, which he believed harmonized with the tonalism of his American paintings.

early 1st-early 3rd century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze

HxW: 14.2 x 17.5 cm

F1905.88

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.88.jpg

2

129

West

Eastern Han dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Flower pot stand

Flower pot stand

This Jun-style ceramic stand was originally intended to hold a flower pot of complementary design and color. First created in Henan Province in northern China, Jun ware was later imitated at other important centers of ceramics production, such as Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. The style remained fashionable among scholar-collectors and flower connoisseurs, and experienced a resurgence in popularity during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Copies of earlier forms and glazes became so accomplished that it is often difficult to distinguish them from the originals. Freer believed this piece, which he purchased during his 1907 trip to China, was from Yuan dynasty in the fourteenth century, but it may actually be a much later Qing dynasty vessel. In the Peacock Room, Freer ignored its original function as a stand and displayed it on its side, so the various shades of blue and violet on the interior were visible.

14th century or 18th-19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun or Jun-style glaze

Jun ware or imitation

HxWxD: 10.9 x 25.7 x 20.8 cm

F1907.42a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.42a-b.jpg

2

128

West

Yuan or Qing dynasty

China

Jar

Jar

Freer made special note of the carved design on the base of this Yuan dynasty jar, a star-shaped or spoked mark that appears on other ceramics in Freer's collection. The gray stoneware with copper pigment is glazed in an opaque blue gray, and its finish bears an all-over crackle brown stain with areas of reddish purple and flecks of green. The uneven and sometimes heavy blobs that appear towards the base of the jar are characteristic of Jun-ware ceramics; Freer displayed more than 40 Jun or Juan-style vessels in the Peacock Room beneath Whistler's fighting peacock mural.

1279-1368

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 12.0 x 16.1 cm

F1907.64

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.64.jpg

2

127

West

Yuan dynasty

China

Tomb lamp in the form of a seated figure holding a child

Tomb lamp

In his object notes about this second-century Han dynasty tomb lamp, Freer called it "historically important." On his invoice from Yamanaka and Company, from whom he purchased this lamp in 1904, Freer added a note that the vessel was said to have come from the collection of a soldier in Beijing. The vessel is also iconographically interesting in that it bears the motif of a mother and child, traditional Chinese symbols of good luck, future progeny, and family survival.

2nd century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze

HxWxD: 22.7 x 9.8 x 9.6 cm

F1904.332

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1904.332.jpg

2

126

West

Eastern Han dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Jar

Jar

Upon purchasing this late thirteenth-to-fourteenth century Yuan dynasty jar from Yamanaka and Company, Freer described it as "fine" and "very interesting." The vessel is rather large with a bulbous, inverted pear-shaped body and a cylindrical mouth-rim. It is crafted from dark gray clay and glazed in light blue, producing variations of color that range from cream to olive. Its texture is a brownish crackle and the gold lacquer finish inside the rim adds a luminescent quality. Freer displayed the jar on what is now the south wall of the Peacock Room.

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze; gold lacquer repair

Jun ware

HxW: 23.0 x 25.5 cm

F1903.236

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1903.236.jpg

2

125

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Vase

Vase

Awata district

This Meiji era vase is attributed to the Japanese artist Kinkozan Sobei VI. The artist's mark is impressed on the base of the vessel. Ceramics coming out of the Kinkozan workshop are characterized by a style of overglaze enamel decoration, and on this vase, that method produces a blue lava-like effect flowing from the mouth of the flattened rim. The vessel's body is a dimpled copper brown. Freer bought this namban style vase from Yamanaka and Company in 1901.

Kinkozan Sobei VI (1824 - 1884)

circa 1870-1880

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with iron and cobalt glazes

Kinkozan ware

HxW: 19.0 x 10.9 cm

F1901.146a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1901.146a-b.jpg

2

124

South

Meiji era

Kyoto

Japan

United States

New York

New York

Vase

Vase

This vase—coated inside with white slip and then dipped, inside and out, into rice-straw ash glaze—exhibits a range of blue tonalities on its exterior: cobalt blue where the glaze was thinly applied, pale blue where it was thicker (on the more horizontal surface of the shoulder). Freer purchased it during his 1907 trip to China. The following year, he displayed the vase in the Peacock Room with more than forty pieces of Jun or "Jun style" ware, massed to create a ceramic "harmony in blue" that resonated with Whistler's interior decoration, whose primary title was "Harmony in Blue and Gold."

mid 17th-19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with white slip beneath rice-straw-ash glaze

Shiwan (Shekwan) ware

HxW: 25.7 x 14.5 cm

F1907.40a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.40a-b.jpg

2

123

South

Qing dynasty

China

Vase

Vase

Shiwan kilns

Western connoisseurs who collected Chinese ceramics at the turn of the century knew relatively little about earlier wares. Since the meticulously formed and decorated Qing dynasty porcelains were generally regarded as the culminating achievement of a centuries-old tradition, it was assumed that the earlier wares must be more heavily potted and glazed. Thus, when Freer purchased this vase in 1896, he accepted the Song dynasty date assigned to it, though it is now known to be from the Ming dynasty. In the Peacock Room in Detroit, it was displayed along the south wall, amid more than forty bright blue Jun or "Jun style" ceramics. This lustrous, creamy white vase was one of several similarly toned vessels that Freer seems to have used on the south wall to punctuate the "harmonies in blue" created by the massing of Jun ware around the sideboard.

17th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

R. E. Moore

Stoneware with opaque white glaze

Shiwan (Shekwan) ware

HxW: 23.6 x 18.9 cm

F1896.35a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1896.35a-b.jpg

2

122

South

Ming dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Tomb jar

Tomb jar

13th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with celadon glaze

Longquan-type ware

HxW: 39.4 x 15.5 cm

F1903.232

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1903.232.jpg

2

121

South

Southern Song dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Jar with two loop handles

Jar

Considered one of the five "great wares" of Chinese ceramics, Jun ware was produced at a number of kilns in Henan province from the Song dynasty (960-1279) through the fifteenth century. The distinctive blue colors of the glaze—which can range from greenish-blue to violet—are the result of a chemical reaction that occurs during the firing and cooling process. Variations in tone occur because some areas of the pot are less thickly glazed than others. This chromatic complexity appealed to Freer, who acquired many examples of Jun ware. In the Peacock Room, which Freer called "the blue room," this bowl was one of more than forty Jun or similarly blue-glazed ceramics displayed along the south wall, just beneath Whistler's allegorical mural of two battling peacocks.

1279-1368

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 11.6 x 13.7 cm

F1905.95

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.95.jpg

2

120

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Brush washer

Brush washer

19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun-style glaze

Yixing ware

HxW: 4.5 x 12.3 cm

F1907.61

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.61.jpg

2

119.1

South

Qing dynasty

Yixing

China

Jar

Jar

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 13.2 x 17.8 cm

F1901.156

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1901.156.jpg

2

119

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Bowl

Bowl

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 8.5 x 18.6 cm

F1901.125

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1901.125.jpg

2

118

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Water pot of lotus-bud form

Water pot

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 9.7 x 10.9 cm

F1898.36

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1898.36.jpg

2

117.2

South

Yuan dynasty

China

Dish in the form of a lotus petal

Dish

19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with brown slip under Jun-style glaze

Yixing ware

HxW: 420.0 x 13.2 cm

F1907.63

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.63.jpg

2

117.1

South

Qing dynasty

Yixing

China

Bowl

Bowl

Considered one of the five "great wares" of Chinese ceramics, Jun ware was produced at a number of kilns in Henan province from the Song dynasty (960-1279) through the fifteenth century. The distinctive blue colors of the glaze—which can range from greenish-blue to violet—are the result of a chemical reaction that occurs during the firing and cooling process. Variations in tone occur because some areas of the pot are less thickly glazed than others. This chromatic complexity appealed to Freer, who acquired many examples of Jun ware. In the Peacock Room, which Freer called "the blue room," this bowl was one of more than forty Jun or similarly blue-glazed ceramics displayed along the south wall, just beneath Whistler's allegorical mural of two battling peacocks.

1279-1368

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

R. E. Moore

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 9.4 x 20.1 cm

F1905.310

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.310.jpg

2

117

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Bowl

Bowl

late 13th-14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 7.1 x 13.2 cm

F1906.255

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.255.jpg

2

116

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Dish

Dish

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment; gold lacquer repair

Jun ware

HxW: 3.4 x 17.3 cm

F1906.253

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.253.jpg

2

115.1

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Bowl

Bowl

1279-1368

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment; repaired with metal staples

Jun ware

HxW: 8.5 x 15.3 cm

F1905.299a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.299a-b.jpg

2

115

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Bowl

Bowl

Traditionally considered one of the five "great wares" of Chinese ceramics, Jun ware was produced at a number of kilns in Henan province from the Song dynasty (960-1279) through the fifteenth century. The distinctive blue colors of the glaze—which can range from greenish-blue to violet—are the result of a chemical reaction that occurs during the firing and cooling process. Variations in tone occur because some areas of the pot are less thickly glazed than others. This chromatic complexity appealed to Freer, who acquired many examples of Jun ware. In the Peacock Room, which Freer called "the blue room," this bowl was one of more than forty Jun or similarly blue-glazed ceramics displayed along the south wall, just beneath Whistler's allegorical mural of two battling peacocks.

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Pao Who

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 8.1 x 19.2 cm

F1906.28

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.28.jpg

2

114

South

Yuan dynasty

China

China

Shanghai

Incense burner

Incense burner

17th-19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Matsuki Bunkyo

Stoneware with Jun-style glaze

HxW: 8.4 x 11.0 cm

F1905.272

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.272.jpg

2

113.1

South

Qing dynasty

China

United States

Boston

Massachusetts

Bowl

Bowl

Considered one of the five "great wares" of Chinese ceramics, Jun ware was produced at a number of kilns in Henan province from the Song dynasty (960-1279) through the fifteenth century. The distinctive blue colors of the glaze—which can range from greenish-blue to violet—are the result of a chemical reaction that occurs during the firing and cooling process. Variations in tone occur because some areas of the pot are less thickly glazed than others. This chromatic complexity appealed to Freer, who acquired many examples of Jun ware. In the Peacock Room, which Freer called "the blue room," this bowl was one of more than forty Jun or similarly blue-glazed ceramics displayed along the south wall, just beneath Whistler's allegorical mural of two battling peacocks.

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 8.9 x 20.4 cm

F1906.34

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.34.jpg

2

113

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Vase in lotus bud form (neck cut down)

Vase

Shiwan kilns

Freer purchased this vase, which was produced in China during the Ming dynasty, from the New York branch of Yamanaka and Company. It is molded in the shape of a lotus flower, and the glaze is milky gray and crackled with areas of pale blue. It was no doubt the varied colors of the surface that appealed to Freer, who organized his ceramics in the Peacock Room according to the color harmonies that he appreciated in the paintings of Whistler and the American tonalists.

16th-mid 17th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with opaque white glaze

Shiwan (Shekwan) ware

HxW: 17.9 x 23.3 cm

F1900.3a-c

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1900.3a-c.jpg

2

112

South

Ming dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Dish

Dish

mid 17th-19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun-style glaze

Guangdong ware

HxW: 3.0 x 13.9 cm

F1907.41a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.41a-b.jpg

2

111.2

South

Qing dynasty

China

Brush washer

Brush washer

19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun-style glaze

Guangdong ware

HxW: 5.2 x 18.0 cm

F1907.56a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.56a-b.jpg

2

111.1

South

Qing dynasty

China

Bowl

Bowl

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 7.5 x 16.2 cm

F1906.254

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.254.jpg

2

111

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Flowerpot stand impressed with character liu (six)

Flower pot stand

14th-15th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Y. Fujita and Company

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 6.9 x 22.3 cm

F1907.99a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.99a-b.jpg

2

109

South

Yuan or Ming dynasty

China

Japan

Kyoto

Bottle in form of pomegranate

Bottle

mid 17th-19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun-style glaze and copper pigment

Guangdong ware

HxW: 5.6 x 5.3 cm

F1907.49a-c

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.49a-c.jpg

2

108.2

South

Qing dynasty

China

Box

Box

18th-19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Glazed clay

Guangdong ware

HxW: 5.6 x 6.7 cm

F1907.48a-c

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.48a-c.jpg

2

108.1

South

Qing dynasty

China

Planter impressed with character i (one)

Planter

Freer acquired this planter while in China in 1907. It is an example of Jun ware, which was produced at a number of kilns in Henan province from the Song dynasty (960-1279) through the fifteenth century. The distinctive blue colors of the glaze—which can range from greenish-blue to violet—are the result of a chemical reaction that occurs during the firing and cooling process. Variations in tone occur because some areas of the pot are less thickly glazed than others. This chromatic complexity appealed to Freer, who acquired many examples of Jun ware. In the Peacock Room, which Freer called "the blue room," this very fine example was one of more than forty Jun or similarly blue-glazed ceramics displayed along the south wall, just beneath Whistler's allegorical mural of two battling peacocks.

14th-early 15th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 25.6 x 27.2 cm

F1907.38a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.38a-b.jpg

2

108

South

Yuan or Ming dynasty

China

Seal paste box

Box

mid 17th-19th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with translucent white glaze

HxW: 2.7 x 6.6 cm

F1907.50a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.50a-b.jpg

2

107.3

South

Qing dynasty

China

Water pot of lotus-bud form

Water pot

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 5.3 x 6.4 cm

F1907.54a-c

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.54a-c.jpg

2

107.2

South

Yuan dynasty

China