Flower-vase: square, with circular mouth and base -- "earth-form". Wood stand.
Clay: hard, resonant; foot: hard, gray.
Glaze: soft, light bluish-gray; brown wash on foot.
Decoration: molded in relief.
Past label text
1. (September, 1983 -- from an exhibition label: Studies in Connoisseurship: 1923-1983) Chinese descriptions of Sung dynasty wares place special emphasis upon the types of crackle and the colors of the glaze. Consequently, Western collectors of Chinese ceramics sought pieces whose glazes suggested that they were products of the famous Sung kilns; when Charles Lang Freer purchased this vase in Peking in 1911, he believed it to be a Sung example of Ko ware [char].
Doubts about the early date of the piece were expressed by John E. Lodge, the first director of the Freer Gallery, in 1922 as he prepared the collection for the inaugural exhibition. Lodge proposed a Ch'ing dynasty date for the vase without giving specific reasons for his attribution.
Recent research on Ch'ing dynasty ceramics has emphasized the antiquarian tastes which flourished in the 18th century and which resulted in a revival of many Sung dynasty wares, produced at Ching-te Chen [char], Kiangsi Province. The shape of the Freer vase, based on an ancient jade tsung [char] can be identified as an 18th century archaistic piece on the basis of its general heaviness, the foot rim dressed with a brown slip, the unctuous quality of the glaze, and the absence of a crackle consistent with Sung dynasty wares. On the basis of these characteristics, the original designation of the vase has been changed from Ko ware to Kuan [char] type ware.
Curatorial Remarks
1. Purchased from Shir Gu-sai, in China. For price see L. 2133, original Pottery List.
2. Original attribution: Chinese. Sung. Ko-yao. See further, S.I. 1475, Appendix IV and Envelope File (See Par. 6).
3. (C.L. Freer) Fine but not equal to S.I. 1465 (F1911.338) or 1666 (F1916.578).
4. (G.D. Guest, 1922) See Laufer: Jade, pp. 152-153, for notes on vases of this form.
5. (J.E. Lodge, 1922) Good of its kind -- might be 17th or 18th century -- fine quality.
6. (H.E. Buckman, 1964) The Envelope File contained no further information, and has now been destroyed.
7. (H.C. Lovell, 1978) Kuan-type ware was added to the attribution. See F1911.344 and F1937.16; attribution on these objects was changed from Sung, Kuan ware to Ch'ing, Kuan-type ware. The reasons given for attribution change on those objects are valid for this <u>tsung<e> shaped vase.
8. (September, 1983 -- from an exhibition label: Studies in Connoisseurship: 1923-1983) Chinese descriptions of Sung dynasty wares place special emphasis upon the types of crackle and the colors of the glaze. Consequently, Western collectors of Chinese ceramics sought pieces whose glazes suggested that they were products of the famous Sung kilns; when Charles Lang Freer purchased this vase in Peking in 1911, he believed it to be a Sung example of Ko 哥 ware.
Doubts about the early date of the piece were expressed by John E. Lodge, the first director of the Freer Gallery, in 1922 as he prepared the collection for the inaugural exhibition. Lodge proposed a Ch'ing dynasty date for the vase without giving specific reasons for his attribution.
Recent research on Ch'ing dynasty ceramics has emphasized the antiquarian tastes which flourished in the 18th century and which resulted in a revival of many Sung dynasty wares, produced at Ching-te Chen 景徳鎮, Kiangsi Province. The shape of the Freer vase, based on an ancient jade tsung 琮 can be identified as an 18th century archaistic piece on the basis of its general heaviness, the foot rim dressed with a brown slip, the unctuous quality of the glaze, and the absence of a crackle consistent with Sung dynasty wares. On the basis of these characteristics, the original designation of the vase has been changed from Ko ware to Kuan 官 type ware.
9. (L.A. Cort, June 1998) "Monochrome" deleted, "Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen" added to identification. "Porcelain" added to clay.
10. (Louise Cort, 10 April 2006) Changed (Style) "Guan ware" to "guan type ware."
11. (Louise Cort, 1 May 2009) Changed Title from Vase to Vase in shape of archaic jade cong.
12. (Louise Cort, 29 June 2010) Changed Ware from Guan type ware to Guan style ware.
Published References
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