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Source Description

Many of the vases created by Yohei III and IV were made with reference to and in emulation of Chinese ceramics in both form and glazing. The vessel type called <em>tongping</em>, pronounced <em>tōbin </em>in Japanese, is tall and cylindrical, like the thick length of bamboo referenced in the shape of the ideograph <em>tong </em>筒. Unlike the ancient <em>gu</em>, <em>hu</em>, and <em>guan</em>, this form did not emerge in China until the Ming dynasty, and many such vases date to the early Qing dynasty.<br><br>Two green-glazed vases, this one by Yohei III and the other by Yohei IV <a href="http://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.228">CMA 2022.228</a>, are interpretations of this form. Yohei III’s version has slightly hunched shoulders and is somewhat wider at the top below the small neck and lip. Yohei IV’s vase is more angular. The wide rack of molded cloud encircling the Yohei III vase rises subtly from very low relief banding above and below it, accentuating the vessel’s rounded edges and complementing the form. In contrast, the allover flower vine pattern on the body and “seven treasures” pattern at the collar of the vase by Yohei IV evokes a garment’s cuffed sleeve, like the common English appellation for this type of vessel—“sleeve vase.”

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
299440
label
Tong-shaped Vase with Band of Cloud
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
299440
contentType
object
title
Tong-shaped Vase with Band of Cloud
description
Many of the vases created by Yohei III and IV were made with reference to and in emulation of Chinese ceramics in both form and glazing. The vessel type called <em>tongping</em>, pronounced <em>tōbin </em>in Japanese, is tall and cylindrical, like the thick length of bamboo referenced in the shape of the ideograph <em>tong </em>筒. Unlike the ancient <em>gu</em>, <em>hu</em>, and <em>guan</em>, this form did not emerge in China until the Ming dynasty, and many such vases date to the early Qing dynasty.<br><br>Two green-glazed vases, this one by Yohei III and the other by Yohei IV <a href="http://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.228">CMA 2022.228</a>, are interpretations of this form. Yohei III’s version has slightly hunched shoulders and is somewhat wider at the top below the small neck and lip. Yohei IV’s vase is more angular. The wide rack of molded cloud encircling the Yohei III vase rises subtly from very low relief banding above and below it, accentuating the vessel’s rounded edges and complementing the form. In contrast, the allover flower vine pattern on the body and “seven treasures” pattern at the collar of the vase by Yohei IV evokes a garment’s cuffed sleeve, like the common English appellation for this type of vessel—“sleeve vase.”
date
1893–1914
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q117793519
creators
299428
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
height: 26.7 cm (10 1/2 in.); Diameter: 11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.); height with stand: 29.8 cm (11 3/4 in.)
cul
Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
accession
2022.225
Source extras
tec
Porcelain with molded and carved design and green glaze
tombstone
Tong-shaped Vase with Band of Cloud, 1893–1914. Seifū Yohei III (Japanese, 1851–1914). Porcelain with molded and carved design and green glaze; height: 26.7 cm (10 1/2 in.); diameter: 11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.); height with stand: 29.8 cm (11 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of James and Christine Heusinger, 2022.225
collection
Japanese Art
inscriptions
inscription
清風
inscription_translation
“Seifū” incised on the base
sortorder
1
inscription
帝室技芸員
inscription_translation
Seal on the box lid: Imperial Household Artist “Teishitsu gigei’in”
inscription_remark
The storage box is also inscribed with the artist's name.
sortorder
2
inscription
金聲玉振
inscription_translation
Seal on the box lid: “kinsei gyokushin”
inscription_remark
The storage box lid is also inscribed.
sortorder
3
didYouKnow
Seifū Yohei III mined the repertoire of Chinese vessel types, from ceramics modeled after ancient ritual bronzes to shapes developed in the Yuan (1279–1368) and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties.
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. 83, pp. 170–171
creditline
Gift of James and Christine Heusinger
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:53:36.502000
sourceId
299440
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
Porcelain with molded and carved design and green glaze
creatorTags
male
Asian (from 1900 to present)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
10d9aee911755dad