Cleveland Museum of Art

Sake Cups with Auspicious Flora

Seifū Yohei II

Date

1861–78

Medium

Pair of sake cups; porcelain with underglaze blue

Culture

Japan

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Seifū Yohei II and his successor, Seifū Yohei III, trained in ink painting. Their brush skills are seen in their underglaze cobalt blue designs. One of Yohei II’s sake cups has depictions of orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, representing spring, summer, and fall, while the other has pine and plum, representing winter. Just under the rim, he has also brushed the phrase “Pine, plum, and fungus immortals” (松梅芝仙). These modest cups are important for the connoisseurship of the art of Yohei II because their original box is intact with a signature and seal on the interior of the lid.

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