Vase in lotus bud form (neck cut down)

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.