The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 23, 2025

Pair of Hexagonal Jars

late 1600s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)
porcelain with overglaze color enamel and gold decoration (Hizen ware; Kakiemon type)
Overall: 26.8 x 18.6 cm (10 9/16 x 7 5/16 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection 1964.273
Location: Not on view

Description

This kakiemon-type jar with plum design is a product made for the European markets. Here, Japanese kakiemon potters transformed the typical plum, bamboo, and pine motifs into a theme appreciating the plum. The 9th-century Japanese scholar and politician Sugawara Michizane established the plum as a symbol of scholarship. An excellent poet, particularly of Chinese-style poetry, he was also well known for his love of plum blossoms. Later, the plum came to represent tenmangu, a shrine for Sugawara.
  • (K. J. Hewett, Ltd., London); Severance and Greta Millikin, Cleveland, 1962.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, and Sŏn Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 82-83, no. 79
  • Cleveland Museum of Art (March 18 - November 17, 2004): Later Japanese Art Gallery Rotation (Gallery 113)
    Cleveland Museum of Art (February 20 - May 6, 2003): Later Japanese Art Gallery Rotation (Gallery 113)
    The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
    St. Louis City Art Museum (10/9–11/15/1970) and Kansas City (12/3/1970-1/3/1971): “200 Years of Japanese Porcelain”
  • {{cite web|title=Pair of Hexagonal Jars|url=false|author=|year=late 1600s|access-date=23 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.273