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Source Description
Archaeologists call this kind of vessel “fire flame,” <em>ka’en</em> in Japanese, because its top resembles flames. No one knows why the design was made or what it actually represents. This example is remarkable for the amount that is original. It was recently determined that a bottom from a different vessel was used during its reconstruction in the 1900s, creating a false impression of its intended scale; it would have initially been about four inches shorter. Since their lower portions were set into holes in the ground during use, bases of pots like this one often deteriorate and may be missing when they are excavated.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
152017
label
Fire-flame Cooking Vessel (Ka'en Doki)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
152017
contentType
object
title
Fire-flame Cooking Vessel (Ka'en Doki)
description
Archaeologists call this kind of vessel “fire flame,” <em>ka’en</em> in Japanese, because its top resembles flames. No one knows why the design was made or what it actually represents. This example is remarkable for the amount that is original. It was recently determined that a bottom from a different vessel was used during its reconstruction in the 1900s, creating a false impression of its intended scale; it would have initially been about four inches shorter. Since their lower portions were set into holes in the ground during use, bases of pots like this one often deteriorate and may be missing when they are excavated.
date
c. 2500 BCE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60762201
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
height: 61 cm (24 in.); Diameter: 55.8 cm (21 15/16 in.)
cul
Japan, Jōmon period (c. 10,500–300 BCE)
accession
1984.68
Source extras
tec
Earthenware with carved and applied decoration
tombstone
Fire-flame Cooking Vessel (Ka'en Doki) (火焔土器), c. 2500 BCE. Japan, Jōmon period (c. 10,500–300 BCE). Earthenware with carved and applied decoration; height: 61 cm (24 in.); diameter: 55.8 cm (21 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1984.68
titleInOriginalLanguage
火焔土器
collection
Japanese Art
didYouKnow
Scientifically tested residues from Jōmon vessels reveal that their makers consumed detoxified acorns.
citations
citation
Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1984." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 72, no. 2 (1985): 163–207.
page_number
Reproduced: pp. 167 and 207, no. 176
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 3
citation
Glaubinger, Jane, "FILL THIS", Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 35 no. 08, October 1995
page_number
Cover
citation
Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. <em>Masterworks of Asian Art.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 178–179
citation
Munsterberg, Hugo, and Marjorie Munsterberg. <em>World Ceramics: From Prehistoric to Modern Times</em>. New York: Penguin Studio Books, 1998.
page_number
Reproduced: pp. 18–19, no. 9
citation
May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. <em>Knockouts: A Pocket Guide</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
page_number
Reproduced: pp. 80 and 119, no. 85
citation
Mackey, Maureen. <em>Experience Clay</em>. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications, 2003.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 58, Fig. 3-24
citation
Grossman, Nancy, James T. Ulak, Marjorie Williams, and Laurence Channing. <em>Art of Japan: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 13
citation
Schirokauer, Conrad. <em>A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations</em>. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 140, fig. 6.2
citation
<em>30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space</em>. London: Phaidon, 2007.
page_number
p. 87
citation
Bell, Julian. <em>Mirror of the World: A New History of Art</em>. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2007.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 26, plate 15
citation
Franklin, David and C. Griffith Mann. <em>Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 16–17
citation
“A Walking Tour: The entire new museum wing by wing, with curators calling out a few favorite works in the collection.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 54, no. 1 (January/February 2014): 8–33.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 28
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide.</em> [Cleveland, OH]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 30
citation
Fortenberry, Diane, ed.<em> The Art Museum.</em> London; New York: Phaidon Press, 2017.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 92, no. 1
citation
Vilbar, Sinéad. “Triumphant Returns: Treasured paintings on loan to Japanese museums and archaeological collections go back on display in Cleveland.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>59, no. 1 (January/February 2019): 12–13.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 13
citation
Miyao, Toru 宮尾亨. "Flame pot in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection" [クリーブランド美術館収蔵の火焔型土器]. <em>Niigata Prefectural Museum of History Research Bulletin </em>[新潟県立歴史博物館研究紀要 = Niigata Kenritsu Rekishi Hakubutsukan kenkyū kiyō] no. 20 (March 2019), pp. 85–94.
page_number
Mentioned: pp. 85–94; Reproduced: fig. 1–fig. 5
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:51:44.740000
sourceId
152017
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
Earthenware with carved and applied decoration
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
70b0feaafa652dfe