Clay: The body is a very fine clay, light buff in color, having many small air pockets. There are very few inclusions.
Glaze: The body is covered with a clear crackled glaze over the cobalt-blue painted decoration. It is not clear whether there is a slip below the cobalt painting or whether the milky white color is imparted by the glaze itself. The bubbly, translucent glaze covers the sides and top of the tile.
Decoration: The underglaze cobalt-blue-painted design consists of freely painted borders conforming to the physical shape of the piece. The cobalt-blue paint is of good quality.
Marks: None.
Provenance:
To 1957
Abu Ridho, Jakarta, Indonesia. [1]
1957
John A. Pope (1906-1982), Washington DC, gift of Abu Ridho, Jakarta, Indonesia. [2]
From 1957
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of John A. Pope, Washington DC [3]
Notes:
[1] See object file, Collections Management Office. See also Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.
