Stoneware with cobalt pigment under clear glaze; iron pigment on base
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 37 x 23.5 x 23.5 cm (14 9/16 x 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 in)
Type:
Vessel
Origin:
Red River Delta kilns, Hai Duong province, Vietnam
Date:
15th century
Period:
Later Le dynasty
Description:
Clay: white stoneware.
Glaze: colorless glaze on body; iron-oxide wash on base.
Decoration: On neck, band of "treasure" lattice. On shoulder, three mythical beasts (baize) alternating with four-pronged clouds whose centers resemble the fungus of immortality, the space filled by smaller flame-like clouds and wish-granting jewels, some enclosed by flames and others not. On upper half of body,scrolling vine enclosing four open peony blossoms. On lower body, elongated lotus-panels enclosing pendant floral motifs. Above foot, band of pendant cloud-collar forms.
Label:
This tall, slender jar with cobalt decoration of lionlike mythical creatures, peony scrolls, and lotus-petal panels was made at a kiln in the Red River delta of northern Vietnam. Its place of manufacture is confirmed by recent research that has identified the locations of several pottery centers in the delta. The ceramic products of those kilns, made with the fine white local clay, were traded to markets ranging from Japan to West Asia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; this jar was recovered in Indonesia.
Provenance:
From at least 1970 to 1992
Ken J.J. Baars, Surrey, England, acquired from a private collector in Southeast Asia, from at least 1970 [1]
From 1992
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Ken J.J. Baars in 1992
Notes:
[1] Ken J.J. Baars acquired this object between 1966 and 1970, while he was working in Southeast Asia. The object was shipped to Holland in 1970 (see Curatorial Note 6 in the object record).
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Vietnam's Ceramics: Depth and Diversity (July 11, 2015 - July 10, 2016)
Vietnamese Ceramics from the Red River Delta (July 10, 2005 to November 15, 2009)
America Meets Asia at the Freer Gallery of Art (May 9, 1993 to June 2, 1998)
