Vase with Peonies

Seifū Yohei III (Japanese, 1851–1914)

1900–1914

Medium
Porcelain with molded and carved design and pink-infused cream glaze
Classification
Ceramic
Dimensions
height: 17.8 cm (7 in.); Diameter: 12.1 cm (4 3/4 in.)
Culture
Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art, Japanese Art
Credit line
Gift of James and Christine Heusinger
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed

View at the Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This flower vase has a creamy white glaze infused with pink. Sadly, the box has been lost, so we cannot know how it was described by the studio. However, through comparison with other works, it is possible to surmise that the work can be categorized as kanpakuji with in-glaze pink. A single huge blossom shoots up into the widest part of the vessel, near the top, so it will be visible from a distance. If this design is displayed in a space with a decorative alcove located some distance away from the entrance, even at a remove, it can announce the taste of its owner and immediately please a guest. On the other side of the vase, two butterflies, their wings overlapping, flit through the sky.