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.