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

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2

127

West

Yuan dynasty

China

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

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2

125

South

Yuan 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

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2

120

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

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

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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

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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

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2

117.2

South

Yuan dynasty

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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2

114

South

Yuan dynasty

China

China

Shanghai

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

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2

113

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 and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 7.5 x 16.2 cm

F1906.254

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2

111

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: 5.3 x 6.4 cm

F1907.54a-c

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2

107.2

South

Yuan dynasty

China

Jar

Jar

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 20.4 x 22.5 cm

F1907.72a-b

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2

104

South

Yuan dynasty

China

Bowl

Bowl

Guantai kiln

14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with iron slip brushed on iron glaze

Cizhou-type ware

HxW: 8.2 x 17.2 cm

F1897.7a-d

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2

103

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Bowl

Bowl

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Pao Who

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 7.8 x 18.2 cm

F1906.29

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2

102

South

Yuan dynasty

China

China

Shanghai

Bowl

Bowl

1279-1368

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 8.3 x 20.1 cm

F1906.256a-b

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2

101

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: 7.6 x 18.3 cm

F1901.124

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2

100

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Incense burner

Incense burner

Described by Charles Freer as "an interesting specimen" that was "strongly modeled and beautifully glazed," this incense burner was purchased during the collector's 1907 trip to Japan. It is an example of Jun ware, which was produced at a number of imperial 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 piece 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

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 10.4 x 10.4 cm

F1907.73a-b

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2

99.2

South

Yuan dynasty

China

Bowl

Bowl

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 8.9 x 20.1 cm

F1903.231

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2

99

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Bowl

Bowl

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Y. Fujita and Company

Stoneware with Jun glaze

Jun ware

HxW: 7.6 x 18.1 cm

F1907.101

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2

98

South

Yuan dynasty

China

Japan

Kyoto

Incense burner

Incense burner

late 13th-late 14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with Jun glaze and copper pigment

Jun ware

HxW: 11.6 x 13.9 cm

F1905.80a-b

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2

96.1

South

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Bottle

Bottle

This slender baluster-shaped bottle was purchased by Freer from the New York branch of Yamanaka and Company in 1905, and at the time it was thought to date to the Song dynasty. Like many of Freer's ceramics, this piece is now known to be from a later period of production. In the Peacock Room in Detroit, the collector displayed it near a number of other Chinese ceramics, many of them featuring a similarly cream-colored surface with touches of color along the neck or shoulder.

1279-1368

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with white slip under clear, colorelss glaze and iron glaze

Cizhou ware

HxW: 27.5 x 12.3 cm

F1905.279

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2

85

East

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Jar with design of phoenix and dragon

Jar

Freer acquired this fourteenth-century Yuan dynasty jar with a phoenix and dragon design from Yamanaka and Company in New York. In the Peacock Room in Detroit he displayed it on one of the tall shelves surrounding the gilded peacock shutters. His arrangement of pots on this side of the room is the least formally coherent; many of the selections and juxtapositions seem to have been made according to size and shape—simply filling the space rather than, as elsewhere, orchestrating harmonious relationships.

14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with white slip and iron pigment under alkaline glaze

Cizhou ware

HxW: 31.6 x 32.9 cm

F1906.36a-b

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2

78

East

Yuan dynasty

Pengcheng

China

United States

New York

New York

Jar

Jar

"Superb," declared Freer of this baluster-shaped jar, which he had purchased from Yamanaka and Company in New York in 1896. Although it was sold to the collector as a Korean vessel, he later noted, " I believe Chinese—Sung or earlier." While actually from the Yuan dynasty, Freer was correct in identifying this piece as Chinese in origin. The dealer's original attribution as Korean presumably resulted from the use of overall white slip—a technique that would have been familiar in Japan (where Yamanaka and Company's flagship gallery was located), from its use on Choson period Korean tea bowls.

14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Yamanaka and Co.

Stoneware with white slip beneath clear glaze

Cizhou ware

HxW: 34.9 x 29.8 cm

F1896.84

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2

76

East

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

New York

New York

Bottle with decoration of clouds and phoenixes

Bottle

When Freer loaned this bottle to an exhibition of East Asian ceramics at the Japan Society of New York in February 1914, it was thought to date to the Song dynasty. Like many of the ceramics that Freer purchased from the dealer Matsuki Bunkyo, this vessel has since been identified as dating to the Yuan dynasty. This was not necessarily because Matsuki was misrepresenting his goods; almost no one understood Yuan ceramics well until the 1950s. In the Peacock Room, the bottle was exhibited with other dark, glossy ceramics, some of which were similarly decorated with touches of gold pigment.

13th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Matsuki Bunkyo

Stoneware with dark glaze and traces of gold pigment

Jizhou ware

HxW: 26.4 x 15.5 cm

F1905.273

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2

25

North

Yuan dynasty

China

United States

Boston

Massachusetts

Bottle

Bottle

Jizhou kilns

The geographical origins of this bottle were not known to Freer, who purchased it from the Parisian dealer Siegfried Bing along with a number of other East Asian ceramics. Nevertheless, the collector described it as "very important" and suggested that it be exhibited occasionally by itself, as well with groupings of Temmoku wares. In the Peacock Room he placed it adjacent to earth-toned Japanese tea bowls, iridescent Raqqa ware, an antique Roman faience jar, and a Song dynasty tomb jar.

13th-14th century

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Siegfried Bing

Stoneware with iron glaze splashed with ash glaze

Jizhou ware

HxW: 34.2 x 19.4 cm

F1901.65

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2

21

North

Yuan dynasty

China

France

Paris