Flower Vase with Chrysanthemums (1914–46): Art, History and Details

Flower Vase with Chrysanthemums (1914–46) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Seifū Yohei IV (Japanese, 1872–1951).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In creating this kanpakuji (or "bright-jewel white porcelain") vase, Yohei IV has applied his father’s signature creamy translucent glaze in combination with underglaze pink gradation surrounding motifs in low relief over an ivory clay body. This method was used to achieve the creamy white of the stalks, leaves, buds, and flowers of the elaborate design of chrysanthemum flowers in diverse stages of bloom.

Object facts

• Title: Flower Vase with Chrysanthemums
• Date: 1914–46
• Creator attribution: Seifū Yohei IV (Japanese, 1872–1951)
• Culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: Porcelain with molded and carved design, underglaze pink, and cream glaze
• Dimensions: height: 28.6 cm (11 1/4 in.); Diameter: 15.2 cm (6 in.); height with stand: 31.1 cm (12 1/4 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 2022.205

A detail from the museum

The ivory and pink vase by Yohei IV show his father’s “bright-jewel white porcelain” technique.

Collection credit

Gift of James and Christine Heusinger

Further reading listed by the museum

• Maezaki, Shinya and Sinéad Vilbar. Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.