The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Bowl from Nesting Bowls with Daoist Immortals
1893–1914
(Japanese, 1851–1914)
Overall: 9.6 x 22.3 cm (3 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.)
Gift of James and Christine Heusinger 2022.185.2
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
In the bottom of each bowl is a scene of two robed immortals who appear to stand on a precipice in a mountainous landscape high in the clouds, with celestial orbs over their heads.Description
Yohei III was capable of ink painting–like compositions in underglaze blue, as well as more decorative ones like that on this set of three nesting bowls. Bowls with very similar designs in five colors were produced in the reign of the Wanli emperor (r. 1572–1620 ) during the Ming dynasty, and Yohei must have had direct access to one of these or to a close copy.A scene of Daoist immortals is presented on the bowls. On each one, the ground plane is defined with a blue wash. Four lanterns are evenly spaced around the bowl. Two are flanked with linked-piece metalwork banners of the seven treasures. The alternate altars are adorned with textile banners. In between them are four immortals, each standing beneath a tree with small plants surrounding his feet. Two of the immortals hold fruit on a tray. Another carries an elixir-filled ewer and a willow branch. The fourth holds a swastika (manji), here an auspicious symbol, and a flower.
Curiously, the inscription inside each footring reads “Made by Seifu of Great Japan,” in emulation of the dynasty and reign inscriptions that appear on Chinese ceramics; but one can also see through the translucent glaze another inscription, “Seifu Yohei,” written in large characters within a double band of blue on the largest bowl.
- ?–2022James and Christine Heusinger, Berea, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art2022–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Maezaki, Shinya and Sinéad Vilbar. Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 41, pp. 114–115
- {{cite web|title=Bowl from Nesting Bowls with Daoist Immortals|url=false|author=Seifū Yohei III|year=1893–1914|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.185.2