The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

Medicine Bottle

1670s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)
porcelain with underglaze blue decoration
height: 41.3 cm (16 1/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1966.514
Location: 235A Japanese

Description

While inspired by medicine jars used in European pharmacies, this bottle was likely decorative. It may have been exported by the Dutch East India Company, a powerful trading company from the Netherlands. In Japan, it operated from Deshima, a man-made island in Nagasaki harbor created in 1636. The initials “I. C.” appear on the base. As the letter J was often transposed with the letter I in Europe of the 1600s, some scholars believe the bottle may have been made for Johannes Camphuys (1634–1695), who was in charge of the Dutch East India Company’s operations in Deshima in 1671.
  • ?–1966
    Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1966–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lerner, Martin. “Tea-Ceremony Pottery and Export Porcelain.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 54, no. 9 (November 1967): 267–278, 290–292B. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 274–275, figs. 4 and 5 www.jstor.org
    Lerner, Martin. Blue and White: Early Japanese Export Ware. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: cat. no. 45
  • Highlights of Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 7, 2025-June 14, 2026).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 236). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 19-December 24, 2013).
    The Porcelain Connection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-August 15, 1982).
    Blue and White: Early Japanese Export Porcelain. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (November 23, 1976-September 6, 1977).
    Blue and White: Early Japanese Export Porcelain. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (November 23, 1976-December 1977).
    Ukiyo-e: Floating World. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 11-September 2, 1973).
    Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=Medicine Bottle|url=false|author=|year=1670s|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.514