Stoneware with iron decoration under clear glaze; areas of iron wash
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 18.5 x 13.5 x 11.4 cm (7 5/16 x 5 5/16 x 4 1/2 in)
Style:
Probably Karatsu ware
Type:
Sculpture
Origin:
Saga prefecture, Japan
Date:
1850-1880
Period:
Edo period or Meiji era
Description:
Figure in tattered kimono leaning over a tub holding a staff and a drawstring bag.
Clay: hard, resonant, buff.
Glaze: brilliant brownish-gray, with underglaze iron details; brown crackle. Flesh parts in thin red wash, hair in dark iron wash.
Provenance:
To 1899
James Lord Bowes (1834-1899), England, to 1899 [1]
Sale of the James Lord Bowes Collection, Liverpool, England, May 6, 1901 [2]
To 1902
James Tregaskis, London, to 1902 [3]
From 1902 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from James Tregaskis in 1902 [4]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [5]
Notes:
[1] The collection of James Lord Bowes (1834-1899) was auctioned in Liverpool on May 6, 1901, and the catalogue is in the Freer Library [SI 3026] (see Curatorial Remark 5, Louise A. Cort, 1986, in the object record).
[2] See note 1.
[3] See Original Pottery List, L. 1162, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
[4] See note 2.
[5] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
