The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Vase

1662-1722

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear colorless glaze

HxWxD: 40.3 x 13.0 x 13.0 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Myron S. Falk, Jr. and his sisters, Mrs. Mildred F. Loew and Mrs. Eleanor F. Lenzner

1

82

East

Baluster vase, from a five-piece garniture (F1980.190-.194)

F1980.190a-c

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1980.190a-c.jpg

Tomb jar

Qingbai ware

13th century

Southern Song or Yuan dynasty

Porcelain with transparent pale-blue (qingbai) glaze

HxW: 71.9 x 18.8 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

214

West

Tomb jar

F1903.235a-b

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1903.235a-b.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Vase

mid 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 47.0 x 20.0 x 20.0 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Helen D. Lally

1

214

West

Vase

F1991.62

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1991.62.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Dish

1662-1722

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze, metal rim

HxWxD: 7.0 x 55.8 x 55.8 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift from the collection of Ann M. Lanier of the Montjoy family of Vienna, Austria

1

214

West

Dish

F1991.63

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1991.63.jpg

Dish

Ding ware

late 10th-early 11th century

Northern Song dynasty

Porcelain with transparent ivory-toned glaze

HxW: 3.8 x 15.6 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

213

West

Dish

F1907.312

Dr. Horace N. Allen

Toledo

OH

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1907.312.jpg

Bottle

1368-1644

Ming dynasty

Stoneware with iron glaze applied in three layers

HxW: 19.1 x 10.8 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

210.1

West

Bottle

F1905.55

American Art Association

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.55.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Plate

mid 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 4.6 x 28.6 x 28.6 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Ruth E. Ganister and Anton H. Rosenthal

1

207

West

Dish, one of a pair with F1992.55.1

F1992.55.2

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1992.55.2.jpg

This tall slender tomb jar from the Southern Song dynasty is one of eight such elaborately decorated vessels that Freer displayed as pairs in the Peacock Room in Detroit. He purchased this example from the New York gallery of Yamanaka and Company, and he was told it and other "specimens of this kind" had been "recovered from ancient Buddhist tombs" in Korea. It is now known to be Chinese in origin and to date to the thirteenth century. Originally an accoutrement of burial in both China and Korea, it would have been paired with another jar of the same shape, both of which would have held funeral offerings of grain meant to assist the deceased in the afterlife.

Tomb jar

Qingbai ware

13th century

Southern Song dynasty

Porcelain with transparent pale-blue (qingbai) glaze

HxW: 48.4 x 16.5 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

207

West

Tomb jar

F1906.252

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.252.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Vase

Jingdezhen ware

late 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 45.5 x 22.5 x 22.5 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Purchase--Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation

1

205

West

Vase

F1986.19a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1986.19a-b.jpg

Jar

16th-mid 17th century

Ming dynasty

Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze

HxW: 15.9 x 18.7 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

204

West

Jar

F1906.248

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.248.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Jar

Jingdezhen ware

late 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 45.5 x 22.5 x 22.5 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Purchase--Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation

1

200

West

Jar

F1986.20a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1986.20a-b.jpg

Tomb jar

early 1st-early 3rd century

Eastern Han dynasty

Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze

HxW: 33.6 x 26.6 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

199

West

Tomb jar

F1905.84

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.84.jpg

Tomb jar

early 1st-early 3rd century

Eastern Han dynasty

Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze

HxW: 37.6 x 27.9 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

198

West

Tomb jar

F1906.247

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.247.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Vase

Jingdezhen ware

late 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Glazed porcelain clay, cobalt pigment

HxWxD: 45.5 x 21.0 x 21.0 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Purchase--Women's Committee of the Smithsonian Associates

1

196

West

Vase with design of deer in a landscape

F1986.4a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1986.4a-b.jpg

Jar

16th-17th century

Ming dynasty

Stoneware with copper and iron pigments under white glaze

H: 41.2 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

195

West

Jar

F1905.90.1-2

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.90.1-2.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Dish

mid 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 4.6 x 28.6 x 28.6 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Ruth E. Ganister and Anton H. Rosenthal

1

191

West

Dish, one of a pair with F1992.55.2

F1992.55.1

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1992.55.1.jpg

Tomb jar

Qingbai ware

13th century

Southern Song dynasty

Porcelain with transparent pale-blue (qingbai) glaze.

HxW: 49.1 x 17.1 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

191

West

Tomb jar

F1906.251

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1906.251.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Vase

1662-1722

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear colorless glaze

HxWxD: 23.5 x 12.0 x 12.0 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Myron S. Falk, Jr.

1

188

West

Bottle-shaped vase

F1982.18a-b

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1982.18a-b.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Vase

mid 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 26.4 x 11.1 x 11.1 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Helen D. Lally

1

187

West

Vase, one of a pair with F1991.60

F1991.59

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1991.59.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Dish

mid 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 3.5 x 21.1 x 21.1 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Mr. John Gruber in memory of John Alexander Pope

1

183

West

Dish with dragon design, one of a pair with F1992.6

F1992.5

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1992.5.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Dish

late 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 4.4 x 20.5 x 20.5 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of the Lydman Collection

1

182

West

Dish, one of a pair with F1992.34.1

F1992.34.2

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1992.34.2.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Vase

1662-1722

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear colorless glaze

HxWxD: 40.5 x 13.0 x 13.0 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Myron S. Falk, Jr. and his sisters, Mrs. Mildred F. Loew and Mrs. Eleanor F. Lenzner

1

178

West

Baluster vase, from a five-piece garniture (F1980.190-.194)

F1980.191a-c

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1980.191a-c.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Plate

mid 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 7.3 x 34.3 x 34.3 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Mr. Pierre Durand

1

176

West

Plate with design of battling warriors, one of a pair with F1992.15.1

F1992.15.2

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1992.15.2.jpg

Tomb jar

early 1st-early 3rd century

Eastern Han dynasty

Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze

HxW: 38.0 x 26.3 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

176

West

Tomb jar

F1905.89

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.89.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Dish

ca. 1700-1750

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 5.5 x 25.8 x 25.8 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Harriett C. Mathews in honor of Adriana Johanna Chutter-Kasteleijn

1

175

West

Dish

F1996.30

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1996.30.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Dish

mid 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 6.3 x 45.1 x 45.1 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Purchase - Friends of Asian Arts

1

170

West

Dish

F1993.9

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1993.9.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Dish

Zhangzhou ware

late 16th-early 17th century

Ming dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt decoration under clear, colorless glaze

HxWxD: 4.8 x 28.9 x 28.9 cm

Zhangzhou kilns

China

Gift of Joan Lebold and Jerome A. Cohen

1

169

West

Dish with design of phoenix and peony

F1991.47

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1991.47.jpg

Tomb jar

early 1st-early 3rd century

Eastern Han dynasty

Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze

HxW: 43.2 x 35.0 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

169

West

Tomb jar

F1900.45

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1900.45.jpg

Freer bought this late Ming or early Qing dynasty jar from the New York branch of Yamanaka and Company, where he was a regular customer. At the time, Freer believed that it was an Edo-period piece of Imari ware from Japan. Describing it in his notes as "extraordinary," he placed it between two Satsuma ware bottles, each decorated with a landscape design in subtle shades of blue. He may have discerned a chromatic relationship between those two vessels and this rough porcelain jar, with its cobalt decoration of floral vine scrolls. The jar's rim formation shows that it was made in imitation of Chinese pewter containers for storing green leaf tea and fitted with a flat inner lid and cylindrical outer lid that would have just covered the unglazed area of the neck. By the time Freer acquired the jar, however, the lost double lid had been replaced with a carved wooden cover of the sort used on Chinese ginger jars displayed in Western parlors and dining rooms at the turn of the century.

Jar

16th-17th century

Ming or Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt decoration under clear glaze

HxW: 15.1 x 15.2 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

169

West

Jar

F1902.240a-d

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1902.240a-d.jpg

Tomb jar (hu)

early 1st-early 3rd century

Eastern Han dynasty

Earthenware with copper-green lead-silicate glaze

HxW: 36.4 x 29.2 cm

China

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

2

164

West

Tomb jar

F1905.87

Yamanaka and Co.

New York

New York

United States

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1905.87.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Dish

early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxW: 4.1 x 26.9 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Dominic P. Jellinek

1

164

West

Dish

F2004.38

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F2004.38.jpg

The Peacock Room, originally the dining room in the home of Frederick R. Leyland, was intended to showcase its owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania."

When Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room in London in 1904, it had already been emptied of its blue-and-white porcelains. Freer, in any case, did not care for their slick surfaces and bright glazes. Beginning in the 1980s, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire blue-and-whites for display in the Peacock Room, in an effort to evoke the chromatic relationships and pictorial patterns that inspired Whistler and his contemporaries.

Plate

mid 17th-early 18th century

Qing dynasty

Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze

HxWxD: 7.8 x 34.3 x 34.3 cm

Jingdezhen

China

Gift of Mr. Pierre Durand

1

163

West

Plate with design of battling warriors, one of a pair with F1992.15.2

F1992.15.1

http://141.217.97.109/plugins/Dropbox/files/peacock-jpg/JPEG/F1992.15.1.jpg