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Source Description
Spring peonies, summer orchids, and autumn chrysanthemums bloom at the same time amid garden rocks. These underglaze blue motifs were inspired by similar designs on Chinese ceramics made for export to Europe. In the early 1600s, Korean potters in Japan discovered kaolin, the clay essential for porcelain production. At the same time, political turmoil in China following the collapse of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) disrupted Chinese exports. Together, these circumstances created an opportunity for Japan to supply ceramics to the European market. Careful study of Chinese prototypes shaped the work of Japanese ceramists for both domestic and overseas audiences.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
140301
label
Large Jar with Peonies, Orchids, and Chrysanthemums
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
140301
contentType
object
title
Large Jar with Peonies, Orchids, and Chrysanthemums
description
Spring peonies, summer orchids, and autumn chrysanthemums bloom at the same time amid garden rocks. These underglaze blue motifs were inspired by similar designs on Chinese ceramics made for export to Europe. In the early 1600s, Korean potters in Japan discovered kaolin, the clay essential for porcelain production. At the same time, political turmoil in China following the collapse of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) disrupted Chinese exports. Together, these circumstances created an opportunity for Japan to supply ceramics to the European market. Careful study of Chinese prototypes shaped the work of Japanese ceramists for both domestic and overseas audiences.
date
late 1600s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80038333
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 30.5 cm (12 in.); height: 40.1 cm (15 13/16 in.)
cul
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
accession
1964.266
Source extras
tec
Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration (Imari ware)
tombstone
Large Jar with Peonies, Orchids, and Chrysanthemums (染付牡丹蘭菊文大壺), late 1600s. Japan, Edo period (1615–1868). Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration (Imari ware); diameter: 30.5 cm (12 in.); height: 40.1 cm (15 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Collection, 1964.266
titleInOriginalLanguage
染付牡丹蘭菊文大壺
collection
Japanese Art
didYouKnow
This design shows the changing of the seasons: one side depicts a peony blossom in the spring, and the other side continues with chrysanthemums and an orchid in the autumn.
citations
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Sŏn Sŭng-hye. <em>The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011.
page_number
Mentioned: P. 59; reproduced: P. 61, no. 42
creditline
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection
updatedAt
2026-06-17 12:46:47.768000
sourceId
140301
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration (Imari ware)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e1b638b2185bd7bc