Cleveland Museum of Art

Sake Pourer with Chrysanthemum, Orchid, and Plum

Seifū Yohei III

Date

c. 1887

Medium

Porcelain with underglaze blue

Culture

Japan

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This sake pourers has a wide basin with a low foot; a generous spout open across the top half; a flat, round lid with a small knob recessed flush to the top of the container; and a tall, arched handle that meets the container where the top joins the basin at a sharp angle. It has a painting in underglaze blue of the Four Nobles: chrysanthemum, orchid, plum, and bamboo. Unlike the creamy white color of some Yohei III works, the white of this sake pourer has the bluish cast typical of porcelains produced in Kyoto. It is signed in underglaze blue on the base. This sake pourer is decorated with the Chinese theme of the Four Nobles, in which the qualities of a good person are represented by plant.

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