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Pair Famille Jaune
This chinese ceramic jar came in a set of two when the Barnes family purchased it in auction on January 1st, 1940, and cost $25. It was acquired in South Glastonbury, but its place of origin is China. This style is described as Famille Jaune. This name was given by the french to describe chinese ceramics that they encountered and collected. More popular are the famille verte ceramics, but essentially these names just describe the colors of the pieces. “Verte” meaning green, and “Jaune” meaning yellow. This style is popular for its bright colors and floral decorations. This is a typical vessel shape for holding things such as spices/herbs or other loose but solid supplies. Based on the light rings in the interior, this piece was wheel thrown. The design would have been carved out of the side like lines in a coloring book before bisque firing so that there was a guide for painting with glaze, and some more variation and texture on the final product. Creating a gradient of glaze such as on these flowers is difficult as glaze dries fast so this was made by a skilled potter. The flowers on this piece are meant to be Chinese roses and their buds. The significance of the pink rose is meant to be joy and romantic enthusiasm. That’s probably why the french enjoyed this style so much, as it’s quite baroque. Cost in 1940 = $25 (for two identical vases) Cost in 2021 with inflation = $488.66 |
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Ming Vase
This vase is probably one of, if not the oldest piece the Barnes had in their collection. The Barnes family purchased it in a Danbury, CT auction for $35 in 1940. In Chinese ceramics, it is common practice to have a signature on the bottom of the vase that indicates the emperor, dynasty, and sometimes the potter. In this case, the signature appears to be under the Chenghua Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was in rule from 1464 until his death in 1487. This style was popular for that time. The piece is actually constructed by three wheel thrown vessels. This method is useful for more complex shapes because it keeps the piece from collapsing while wet, and it allows you to make shapes you wouldn’t normally be able to fit your hands through to fix. This was dated using the signature on the bottomYou can decode these signatures depending on how they are formatted. Sometimes it’s a set of 4-6 characters, and other times it’s in the form of a reign mark. A reign mark has those characters condensed into a square that the potter can stamp onto the piece. Cost in 1940 = $35 Cost in 2021 with inflation = $684.13 |
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Ming Plate
There is a second piece estimated to be from the Ming Dynasty in this collection, which is the plate you see here. This piece was purchased by the Barnes family in 1940 for $150 at an auction in Guilford, CT. This was the maximum they had spent on a single ceramic item when acquiring their collection. This piece has typical floral decor, but is elegantly hand painted with blue slip. You can see the rings were painted using a wheel to form perfect circles, and the line work is thin and fine. One positive to painting with blue slip is that it can be carved afterwards with a needle to work on tiny details.
Cost in 1940 = $150
Cost in 2021 with inflation = $2,931.97
There is a second piece estimated to be from the Ming Dynasty in this collection, which is the plate you see here. This piece was purchased by the Barnes family in 1940 for $150 at an auction in Guilford, CT. This was the maximum they had spent on a single ceramic item when acquiring their collection. This piece has typical floral decor, but is elegantly hand painted with blue slip. You can see the rings were painted using a wheel to form perfect circles, and the line work is thin and fine. One positive to painting with blue slip is that it can be carved afterwards with a needle to work on tiny details.
Cost in 1940 = $150
Cost in 2021 with inflation = $2,931.97
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Vase With Raised Cranes
This Japanese vase was purchased in a South Glastonbury, CT auction for $40 in 1941. It’s a porcelain piece painted with blue slip. Many east asian countries were able to achieve that beautiful blue color we still often use for our nice “china” by mixing porcelain with metals like cobalt. You can paint over porcelain with it, put it through the initial bisque firing, and then glaze it with a thin white glaze. The blue will show through, giving the bright effect you see here. Also, notice that this vase is squared. The way in which this was constructed had to be different from a normal vase thrown on a wheel. I suspect that this was a pinch pot that was paddled. For the base, the artist must have taken slabs and joined them together. You then beat the base with a paddle to flatten the sides and smooth the edges. The top has some irregularity, therefore I believe it was hand pinched, smoothed, and then added to the base. The crane, which is featured in relief on the vase, is an important symbol in Japanese Culture. The bird's most important meaning is peace. Vases such as this would be displayed for guests to see, therefore the crane is an appropriate symbol as it’s inviting. This is much like the pineapple lights in the parlor of the Barnes that symbolizes welcoming. Cost in 1941 = $40 Cost in 2021 with inflation = $770.77 |
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Snuff Bottles
Here are two examples of what are called snuff bottles. They were purchased in 1940 by Leila for her husband, Bradley. The pair cost them $100 at auction. The Barnes family had many of these in their collection. The purpose of these bottles is to hold powdered tobacco, which you could then use for medicinal purposes. Rather than smoking it from a pipe, you would sniff it. Believe it or not, there is still Tobacco in these two bottles. These are some of the only pieces they had, excluding plates, that they used for functional purposes rather than strictly decorative. Cost in 1940 = $100 (for the pair) Cost in 2021 with inflation = $1954.65 |
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Apple Green Crackle Vase
This apple green crackle vase was bought by the family in 1940 for $75 in an auction house in Hartford, CT. This piece is small and doesn’t have any decor on it, but what stands out is the crackled glaze, similar to the Ming Vase on display. Ceramics is not only an art, but also a science. Often it’s quite difficult to date ceramics as they’re essentially made out of metals and stone rather than organic materials, but patterns in glaze such as this can offer a deeper look into many things. Art conservationists use color, types of minerals and metals, and even the pattern of cracking in the glaze to narrow down time period and region. They had estimated that this piece came from the Chien Lung reign under the Qianlong Emperor in China. This means it dates from 1735-1796, which is why it was more expensive than most vases the family had purchased. Cost in 1940 = $75 Cost in 2021 with inflation = $1,465.99 |
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On display in the Museum from August 4 -13, 2021, this exhibit featured a closer look into the Barnes Family's collection of Easter Asian Ceramics. During the 1930s-40s, Leila Upson Barnes acquired a large collection through auctions. Seven of those pieces were chosen to show the diversity of their collection. They range from country of origin, style, methods of creation, function, and symbolism.
This exhibit was prepared by Carlyn Kosienski, part of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges class of 2023 and double majoring in architectural studies and art history.
This exhibit was prepared by Carlyn Kosienski, part of the Hobart and William Smith Colleges class of 2023 and double majoring in architectural studies and art history.
