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Source Description

Yohei IV’s incense burner has a scrolling floral pattern of peonies and <em>nyoi </em>staff-head forms around the body and a band of clouds around the collar. These are done in low relief, with incised lines marking the details in the flower petals and leaves. The silver lid has a proliferation of flowers, including lily, peony, and a variety of chrysanthemums. <br><br>The box lid identifies the subtle pink over an ivory body as “dawn’s light[–glazed] porcelain” (<em>shokōji</em>). After he became an Artist of the Imperial Household, Yohei III created a number of glaze and clay combinations with what would have been considered Japan-focused names to be in alignment with his position as an artist representing the nation. Among them was a glaze called “dawn’s light pale [pink] color” (<em>akebonoiro tansai</em>), which he invented in 1895. It is possible that this incense burner is an example with this glaze, despite the slightly different name given on the box. While the name alludes to the Land of the Rising Sun, an epithet for Japan, the burner’s motifs remain very much drawn from the Chinese repertoire.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
519647
label
Lid for an Incense Burner with Peony and Cloud
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
519647
contentType
object
title
Lid for an Incense Burner with Peony and Cloud
description
Yohei IV’s incense burner has a scrolling floral pattern of peonies and <em>nyoi </em>staff-head forms around the body and a band of clouds around the collar. These are done in low relief, with incised lines marking the details in the flower petals and leaves. The silver lid has a proliferation of flowers, including lily, peony, and a variety of chrysanthemums. <br><br>The box lid identifies the subtle pink over an ivory body as “dawn’s light[–glazed] porcelain” (<em>shokōji</em>). After he became an Artist of the Imperial Household, Yohei III created a number of glaze and clay combinations with what would have been considered Japan-focused names to be in alignment with his position as an artist representing the nation. Among them was a glaze called “dawn’s light pale [pink] color” (<em>akebonoiro tansai</em>), which he invented in 1895. It is possible that this incense burner is an example with this glaze, despite the slightly different name given on the box. While the name alludes to the Land of the Rising Sun, an epithet for Japan, the burner’s motifs remain very much drawn from the Chinese repertoire.
date
1914–46
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q117536074
creators
299428
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Lid: 3.5 x 10.9 cm (1 3/8 x 4 5/16 in.)
cul
Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
accession
2022.204.b
Source extras
tec
Floral openwork silver lid
tombstone
Lid for an Incense Burner with Peony and Cloud, 1914–46. Seifū Yohei III (Japanese, 1851–1914). Floral openwork silver lid; lid: 3.5 x 10.9 cm (1 3/8 x 4 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of James and Christine Heusinger, 2022.204.b
collection
Japanese Art
didYouKnow
Seifū Yohei IV’s incense burner has a pale pink glaze named “dawn’s light.”
citations
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. 61, pp. 150–151
creditline
Gift of James and Christine Heusinger
updatedAt
2026-05-29 09:07:13.289000
sourceId
519647
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
Floral openwork silver lid
creatorTags
male
Asian (from 1900 to present)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
cf5ba02ea7f0704e