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Source Description
In Chinese culture, the plum symbolizes the virtue of perseverance. For his sweets bowl based on Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Chinese prototypes, Seifū Yohei IV first painted the gnarled boughs of a plum tree in iron oxide on the surface. Then he made the tree’s blossoms slightly raised by building up slip, or liquified clay. He painted their centers yellow. Before applying the blue glaze, he covered the blossoms with paper so that they remained white.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
447713
label
Sweets Bowl with Plum Tree
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
447713
contentType
object
title
Sweets Bowl with Plum Tree
description
In Chinese culture, the plum symbolizes the virtue of perseverance. For his sweets bowl based on Qing dynasty (1644–1911) Chinese prototypes, Seifū Yohei IV first painted the gnarled boughs of a plum tree in iron oxide on the surface. Then he made the tree’s blossoms slightly raised by building up slip, or liquified clay. He painted their centers yellow. Before applying the blue glaze, he covered the blossoms with paper so that they remained white.
date
1914–46
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q117706835
creators
299426
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
11.5 x 21.5 cm (4 1/2 x 8 7/16 in.)
cul
Japan, Taishō period (1912–26) to Shōwa period (1926–89)
accession
2022.242
Source extras
tec
Porcelain with underglaze color and modeled design
tombstone
Sweets Bowl with Plum Tree (月宵青磁梅図菓子鉢), 1914–46. Seifū Yohei IV (Japanese, 1872–1951). Porcelain with underglaze color and modeled design; 11.5 x 21.5 cm (4 1/2 x 8 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of James and Christine Heusinger, 2022.242
titleInOriginalLanguage
月宵青磁梅図菓子鉢
collection
Japanese Art
inscriptions
inscription
清風
inscription_translation
“Seifū” incised on the base
sortorder
1
inscription
清風
inscription_translation
Seal on the inside of the box lid: “Seifū
inscription_remark
The storage box's lid is inscribed on both the top and the inside.
sortorder
2
didYouKnow
Broad access to high-quality Chinese ceramics occasioned by the collapse of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and the dispersal of elite Chinese collections presented Seifū Yohei IV with models for both molded decoration and painted motifs.
citations
citation
Vilbar, Sinead. Colors of Kyoto: Modern ceramics of Japan.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>63, no. 2 (2023): 14–17.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 16
citation
Maezaki, Shinya and Sinéad Vilbar. <em>Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 72, p. 163
creditline
Gift of James and Christine Heusinger
updatedAt
2026-06-18 11:45:48.050000
sourceId
447713
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
Porcelain with underglaze color and modeled design
creatorTags
Asian (from 1900 to present)
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
05da353dd3eb5780