Teapot with Begonias (1897–1914): Art, History and Details

Teapot with Begonias (1897–1914) 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:

This teapot has complex surface treatment: a design of begonias in modulated underglaze blue for the leaves and stems as well as thick overglaze white with incised lines to define the petals, plus small areas of underglaze yellow at their low-relief centers. A band of underglaze blue gives further definition to the lid’s handle, and the area just above the base has a double band of blue above a row of snail-shell curls. Unlike many other teapots, which have marks on their bases, this one has “Seifu” incised into one of its sides in relatively large characters. It is the side that would face the host if the teapot were held by the handle with the right hand, which would be the expectation.

Object facts

• Title: Teapot with Begonias
• Date: 1897–1914
• Creator attribution: Seifū Yohei III (Japanese, 1851–1914)
• Culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: Porcelain with underglaze and overglaze colors
• Dimensions: height with lid: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.); width with handle: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.); Diameter: 9 cm (3 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 2022.168

A detail from the museum

This teapot with begonias combines underglaze blue with subtle use of yellow and white enamels.

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.