Tea ceremony water jar with design of Gion Festival halberds
date: label: Date
content: 18th century
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Style of Nonomura Ninsei (active ca. 1646-77)
notes: label: Description
content: Unknown workshop; false seal of Ninsei
label: Description
content: Tea Ceremony water jar (mizusashi [Jpn]); silver cover.
label: Description
content: Clay: hard, dense, grayinsh
label: Description
content: Glaze: clear, close dark crackle
label: Description
content: Decoration: in colored enamels (blue, green, red, black) and gold and silver over glaze.
label: Description
content: Mark: Ninsei [Jpn], large size, inside squared oval frame, stamped on base to left.
label: Marks
content: Mark: Ninsei [Jpn], large size, inside squared oval frame, stamped on base to left.
label: Label
content: The master potter Ninsei, active in the mid-17th century, introduced techniques of overglaze enameling to Kyoto. His bold designs reflected the culture of the clergy and the aristocrats who were his major patrons. The six halberds shown on this jar are associated with the Gion Festival of Kyoto. The design makes the jar appropriate for use in midsummer, around the time of the annual festival.
label: Provenance
content: To 1893
label: Provenance
content: Tozo Takayanagi, New York to 1893 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1893 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Tozo Takayanagi in 1893 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 117, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] 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.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ceramics: from Past to Present (February 18, 1983 to December 16, 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Ceramics from Past to Present (February 18, 1983 to February 16, 1984)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Takayanagi Tozo 高柳陶造 (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture, Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: ceramic
label: Topic
content: Kyoto ware
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: water
label: Topic
content: festival
label: Topic
content: tea
label: Topic
content: forgery
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: stoneware
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1893.30a-b
objectType: label: Type
content: Vessel
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Stoneware with clear glaze and enamels; silver lid
label: Dimensions
content: H x Diam: 17.1 × 14.8 cm (6 3/4 × 5 13/16 in)
label: Style
content: Kyoto ware (false Ninsei seal)