The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of September 15, 2024
Water Container with Peonies
1900–1914
(Japanese, 1851–1914)
height: 16.2 cm (6 3/8 in.); Diameter: 16 cm (6 5/16 in.); Diameter of foot: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)
Gift of James and Christine Heusinger 2022.197.a
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
Yohei III often made chanoyu pieces for select clients, as documented by letters still preserved with this water container, or mizusashi.Description
This ceramic is an especially accomplished example of Yohei III’s combination of an all-over translucent colored glaze with molded and carved designs. It features the peony as its primary motif. The water container, or mizusashi, has a green glaze, and its design takes into consideration the rounded shape and the seated position of the host and guests. It begins low on the body with a flower just beginning to open and continues with another flower a bit higher up, with its petals fully extended and beginning to open outward. It finishes with a flower in full bloom, petals and leaves unfurled and spread outward from the center, now occupying almost the entire surface.The water container once belonged to the Hosokawa family, whose go-between corresponded with Yohei IV about the piece. Yohei IV thanked them for their payment and requested that despite his father’s death in the previous year, they continue to favor the studio with their orders. The letter and its envelope, as well as an auction tag, remain with the object.
- ?–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. 53, pp. 2–3 and 128–131"Colours of Kyoto, Ceramics From the Yohei Studio." The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries 27, no. 1 (November 2023): 8 Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 8
- Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 19, 2023-March 10, 2024).
- {{cite web|title=Water Container with Peonies|url=false|author=Seifū Yohei III|year=1900–1914|access-date=15 September 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.197.a