Cleveland Museum of Art

Container from Lit Charcoal and Ash Containers

Seifū Yohei III

Date

1893–1914

Medium

One from a set of four containers; porcelain with molded design

Culture

Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The box lid for these six-lobed lit charcoal and ash containers, or hiire , identifies them as kōhakuji , another of Yohei III’s translucent cream colors over ivory clay bodies. One might translate the name as “lustrous pearl[–glazed ivory] porcelain.” A hiire was filled with ash with burnt coals at the center so that embers and tobacco ash could be discarded safely during a gathering. Each of the lobes on the containers has a round protrusion set below the rim. The studlike pattern is called ruiza . The term is also used to describe the pattern that rings the shoulder of some flower vases or metal kettles used in chanoyu. The Seifu studio generally followed the standard practice in Japan for identifying the artist and object in box inscriptions.

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