Square Jar with Birds and Flowers (late 1600s): Art, History and Details

Square Jar with Birds and Flowers (late 1600s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This lidded square jar was likely paired with a complementary yet nonidentical mate. The pine tree, plum, and bamboo together form the frequently depicted motif known as the Three Friends of Winter (shōchikubai), so named because of their hardy perseverance in the cold. Each side also features a pair of birds, including cranes on one face and pheasants on another.

Object facts

• Title: Square Jar with Birds and Flowers
• Date: late 1600s
• Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: Porcelain with overglaze color enamels and gold (Hizen ware, Kakiemon type)
• Dimensions: Overall: 27.8 x 11.6 cm (10 15/16 x 4 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1964.277.a

A detail from the museum

A jar like this was fired at a high temperature, painted with colored enamels, and then fired again at a lower temperature.

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Collection

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.