Cleveland Museum of Art

Brazier with Coins Motif

Seifū Yohei III

Date

1893–1914

Medium

Stoneware with underglaze iron oxide designs and crackling

Culture

Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Tall pottery braziers called ryōro are often used to heat the water for the tea served at sencha gatherings. This one sits on three sturdy legs, one of which bears the artist’s seal on its face. A horizontal rectilinear opening above this leg allows air to circulate into the lower part of the brazier. The top part is outfitted with three prongs onto which the kettle can be lowered; below them is a basin, perforated with circular holes, that holds the charcoal fuel. The brazier is decorated under the crackled transparent glaze with a design of old coins in iron oxide. The motif is cleverly chosen, for most older coins are round with a central hole, often square, which echoes the cylindrical form of the brazier with its rectilinear “wind gate,” or fūmon . One coin is painted with the Japanese god of wealth, Daikokuten, standing upon two bales of rice.

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