Bowl

When Freer acquired this bowl as part of a group acquisition in 1907, it (and a number of similar examples) was believed to have been made in Korea, on account of their provenance. Scholars now agree, however, that most white wares like this, despite having been found in Korean tombs, were, in fact, made in China. This qingbai porcelain bowl, which dates to the second half of the twelfth century, was part of the collection of. Horace Allen, a former missionary and then ambassador to Korea. When Allen returned to Dayton, Ohio, and decided to sell his ceramics collection, he received high offers for individual pieces. He opted instead to keep the collection intact. Freer agreed to the purchase under that condition and noted upon review of his new wares, "Can some of them be Chinese?"