The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

M.0618
Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck

Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1876/1878
Collection: Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY
Accession Number: 69.166
Medium: pen, black ink and wash
Support: cream Japan paper laid down on card
Size: 7 1/2" x 5 9/16" (190 x 141 mm)
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: none

Date

Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck dates from 1876/1878. It is a preliminary study for an illustration in a catalogue of the collection of Henry Thompson (1820-1894), published in 1878. 1

Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Munson-Williams-Proctor
Institute
Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 618).

Images

Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Munson-Williams-Proctor
Institute
Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute

Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Glasgow Museums
Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Glasgow Museums

Subject

Description

Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute

A sketch of a vase, with a vertical central line drawn to aid in making it symmetrical.

The Thompson catalogue described the subject as one of two similar vases:

'Pair of Vases, with slightly bulging bodies and expanding necks. On one a band of six musicians, with female dancing on a carpet, in the presence of lady of rank seated at a table, with two attendants at her side: round the neck, bamboo leaves and ornamental band: round the foot a running leaf pattern. On the other vase, a mandarin or person of rank, seated at a table in a pavilion surrounded by warriors and attendants, is addressing a sage who, standing in front of a table, is apparently inscribing upon a scroll the words addressed to him: without, a warrior carrying a standard attended by another bearing an offering: round the neck, bamboo leaves and ornamental bands: round the foot running leaf pattern. Mark, Ta Ming Ching-hwa nien chi. A.D. 1465-1468. Height, 10 inches.' 2

This is the second vase described above, showing, at upper left, the mandarin sitting at a table, but details are only roughly indicated.

Technique

Composition

Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Munson-Williams-Proctor
Institute
Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute

Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Glasgow Museums
Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck, Glasgow Museums

This is a preliminary study for Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck m0619.

History

Provenance

Exhibitions

It was not, as far as is known, exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

Authored by Whistler


Notes:

1: Thompson 1878 [more].

2: Thompson 1878 [more], pp. 15-16 (cat. no. 74) repr. pl. 12.

3: Cylindrical Jar m0593, Oviform Vase m0595Bottle m0597, Bottle m0598, Oviform Ginger-Jar with Bell-Shaped Cover m0600, Oviform Vase and Cover m0602, Large Bowl and Cover m0604, Oviform Vase m0606, Oviform Vase m0607, Oviform Vase m0608, Oviform Vase m0609, Double Gourd Vase m0612, Beaker m0614, Beaker m0615, Vase with slightly bulging body and expanding neck m0619, Cylindrical Vase with thick neck m0620, Cylindrical Vase with thick neck m0621, Square Canister with long neck m0623, Square Canister with expanding neck m0625, Globular-shaped Bottle with long neck, and a deep dish m0627, Saucer-shaped Dish m0629, Square Canister with square neck, and saucer-shaped Dish m0630, Plate, Bowl with a cover surmounted by a cup-shaped knob, Globular-shaped Bottle with long neck and Eight-sided Bowl m0632, Bottle of compressed globular form m0635, Treble-Gourd Vase with long neck, and Bowl with scalloped edge m0639, Teapot in the form of a pomegranate m0641, Globular Bottle with long thin neck, Cylindrical-shaped Pot with flat cover surmounted by a knob, and Shallow Bowl m0643, Oviform Pot and cover m0646, Beaker with expanding neck m0648, Oviform Vase and cover m0650.