The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Sake Flask

Sake Flask

1500s
(1392–1573)
Black laquered wood with red lacquer
Diameter: 24 cm (9 7/16 in.); Overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.)
Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Mitsuru Tajima 1991.47.2
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The evocative imagery of brushed leaves and bunches of grapes suggest that the artist referred to a particular painting when decorating this vase.

Description

This flask contained rice wine, or sake. Its wood body was shaped by a lathe before black lacquer was applied to the surface. A red lacquer design of grapevines, an auspicious motif, covers the surface. With their numerous, long-lasting fruits, grapevines traditionally symbolized fertility and longevity in East Asia.
  • ?-1991
    (Tajima Mitsuru, Tokyo, Japan, ?-1991, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1991-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1991-present
  • Turner, Evan H., et al. “Notable Acquisitions.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 78, no. 3, 1991, pp. 63–147. Reproduced: p. 141 www.jstor.org
    Cunningham, Michael R. The Triumph of Japanese Style: 16th-Century Art in Japan. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Published by the Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with the Indiana University Press, 1991. Reproduced: p. 121
    Sŏn, Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. Reproduced: p. 77, cat. no. 74b
  • The Lure of Painted Poetry: Cross-cultural Text and Image in Korean and Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991: Notable Acquisitions.
    Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991: The Triumph of Japanese Style: 16th-Century Art in Japan.
  • {{cite web|title=Sake Flask|url=false|author=|year=1500s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.47.2