The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Vase with Plum Blossoms
1914–46
(Japanese, 1872–1951)
32.9 x 23.1 cm (12 15/16 x 9 1/8 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Yohei IV’s allover design of budding and flowering plum blossoms, strongly associated with spring and with China, is combined with his father’s “water color” glaze on this vase.Description
The dense, allover pattern of flowering plum, or prunus, branches on this vase resembles Japanese textile patterns. The trunks and forward-facing blossoms anchor the design, which is also filled with thinner branches and flowers ranging from round bud to full bloom, with the occasional flower facing upward or downward. As they might in a textile design, the trunks run in alternate directions up and down the surface. At the foot is a classic running design of spirals and at the neck, a collar of clouds. Although the vase has unfortunately lost its box, the glaze color is probably “water color” (mizusai). The visual effect is like that of a silk brocade, in which the pattern takes a supporting role to the color.- ?–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. 68, p. 159
- 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=Vase with Plum Blossoms|url=false|author=Seifū Yohei IV|year=1914–46|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.211