Lidded Jar with Peonies (1897–1912): Art, History and Details

Lidded Jar with Peonies (1897–1912) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Seifū Yohei III (Japanese, 1851–1914).

The work and its context

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

The petals of the large, white peonies on this jar were made by applying molded clay to the body and incising the clay with lines for definition. The flowers’ centers were then painted with yellow, along with the leaves in cobalt blue line and wash. A subtle blue gradation was also added all around the flowers using a masking method. The lid, with its treasured jewel-shaped finial, was also decorated with foliate motifs in underglaze cobalt blue. Finally, a transparent glaze was applied over the entire body of both the jar and lid. It is a special demonstration of Yohei III’s use of precision and control to create a completely balanced composition.

Object facts

• Title: Lidded Jar with Peonies
• Date: 1897–1912
• Creator attribution: Seifū Yohei III (Japanese, 1851–1914)
• Culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: Porcelain with molded and carved design and underglaze color
• Dimensions: height: 27 cm (10 5/8 in.); Diameter: 26.4 cm (10 3/8 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 2022.200

A detail from the museum

Seifū Yohei III drew inspiration from Qing dynasty Chinese wares but experimented widely with new glazing techniques.

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.
• Goodall, Hollis. "Seifū Yohei III: Master of Finesse." Impressions: The Journal of the Japanese Art Society of America 45, part 2 (2024): 178-193.

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.