Sweets Bowl with Plum Tree

月宵青磁梅図菓子鉢

1914–46

Seifū Yohei IV 四代清風与平

(Japanese, 1872–1951)

Culture

Japan, Taishō period (1912–26) to Shōwa period (1926–89)

Medium

Porcelain with underglaze color and modeled design

Measurements

11.5 x 21.5 cm (4 1/2 x 8 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of James and Christine Heusinger 2022.242

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Location

235A Japanese

Did You Know?

Broad access to high-quality Chinese ceramics occasioned by the collapse of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and the dispersal of elite Chinese collections presented Seifū Yohei IV with models for both molded decoration and painted motifs.

Description

In Chinese culture, the plum symbolizes the virtue of perseverance. For his sweets bowl based on Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Chinese prototypes, Seifū Yohei IV first painted the gnarled boughs of a plum tree in iron oxide on the surface. Then he made the tree’s blossoms slightly raised by building up slip, or liquified clay. He painted their centers yellow. Before applying the blue glaze, he covered the blossoms with paper so that they remained white.