Gu-Shaped Flower Vase

櫻華釉花缾

1893–97

Seifū Yohei III 三代清風与平

(Japanese, 1851–1914)

Culture

Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Medium

Glazed porcelain with molded and carved designs

Measurements

height: 31.1 cm (12 1/4 in.); Diameter of mouth: 13.5 cm (5 5/16 in.); Diameter of foot: 11 cm (4 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of James and Christine Heusinger 2022.224

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

This gu-shaped vase has “cherry blossom glaze” (ōkayū), which Yohei III invented in 1890.

Description

Seifū Yohei III was the most prominent head of a ceramics studio in Kyoto that specialized in Chinese-style porcelains and especially items for use in sencha (煎茶), or the drinking of steeped-leaf tea with companions. Sencha was popular among the bunjin of Kyoto and Osaka, who often enjoyed it as part of their emulation of Chinese culture. While sencha was by design less formal than the Japanese tea ceremony, it still featured the display of treasured objects. Prized Chinese antiquities were generally unobtainable, so substitutes such as the Gu-Shaped Flower Vase were much in demand.