Sake Cups with Auspicious Flora

蘭竹菊・松梅図盃

1861–78

Seifū Yohei II 二代清風与平

(Japanese, 1844–1878)

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Culture

Japan

Medium

Pair of sake cups; porcelain with underglaze blue

Measurements

height (each): 3 cm (1 3/16 in.); diameter (each): 7 cm (2 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of James and Christine Heusinger 2022.145

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Location

235A Japanese

Did You Know?

These modest cups are important for the connoisseurship of the art of Yohei II because their original box is intact with a signature and seal on the interior of the lid.

Description

Seifū Yohei II and his successor, Seifū Yohei III, trained in ink painting. Their brush skills are seen in their underglaze cobalt blue designs. One of Yohei II’s sake cups has depictions of orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, representing spring, summer, and fall, while the other has pine and plum, representing winter. Just under the rim, he has also brushed the phrase “Pine, plum, and fungus immortals” (松梅芝仙).