The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Prunus Vase with Amaranth

1914–46

Seifū Yohei IV

(Japanese, 1872–1951)
Japan, Taishō period (1912–26)
Porcelain with yellow glaze and overglaze color enamel and gold
height: 29.8 cm (11 3/4 in.); Diameter: 11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.); height with stand: 32.4 cm (12 3/4 in.)
Gift of James and Christine Heusinger 2022.229
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Seifū Yohei IV continued to create works in the studio’s signature colors but also produced pieces with strong color and flare that were his interpretations of Qing dynasty (1644–1911) glazes.

Description

Yohei IV’s interest in bold, colorful designs is on full display in this vase shaped like a “prunus vase,” or meiping (Japanese meipin). It has two colors of amaranthus on a yellow ground. It follows a design appearing on a sleeve-shaped vase by Yohei III. Yohei IV uses bright spring-green dots of overglaze enamel to suggest a ground plane in his yellow environment; he also uses red and magenta accented with wild gold cascades of dots for two plants he places on opposite sides of the vase, one much larger than the other. In Yohei III’s version, the body of the vessel is white, and the foliage of one plant is red with carefully painted veins in gold, while another plant strategically positioned behind it has a deep rust color, again carefully detailed in gold. In a sense, Yohei IV has deconstructed his father’s logical, balanced design and re-presented it as an emotive, lightheartedly chaotic one that sates the appetite for instant gratification, much as his father’s creation rewards the pursuit of elegance.
  • ?–2022
    James and Christine Heusinger, Berea, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2022–
    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. 87, pp. 176–179
    Goodall, Hollis. "Seifū Yohei III: Master of Finesse." Impressions: The Journal of the Japanese Art Society of America 45, part 2 (2024): 178-193. Mentioned: p. 192; Reproduced: p. 1 (inside front cover), 193 (fig. 10)
  • Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 19, 2023-March 10, 2024).
    Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - July 2017-January 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 15, 2017-January 2, 2018).
  • {{cite web|title=Prunus Vase with Amaranth|url=false|author=Seifū Yohei IV|year=1914–46|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.229