Cleveland Museum of Art

Water Container with Shell and Seaweed

Seifū Yohei IV

Date

1914–46

Medium

Porcelain with underglaze blue, blue glaze and molded design

Culture

Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912) or Taishō period (1912–26)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Yohei IV chose an aquatic theme for this mizusashi . He applied clay to the surface and molded the shape of a large conch on one side and, on the other, a clam and a scallop. The finer details he incised into the surface of his low-relief shapes. He then painted seaweed as though it were coming out from behind the sea creatures, and he further set off the animals using a masking technique with a gradated blue surround. Finally, he applied a translucent blue glaze, identified on the box as mizusai, over the entire body of the vessel. The resulting effect is that one imagines having descended through the water to the ocean floor. A mizusashi , water container, is an essential utensil for a tea ceremony.

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