Covered jar with design of flower maiden, sage, and child amidst flowering plants / Artist Unknown, Imari ware, Japan

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Record Details

Accession Number
1972/2.72A&B
Title
Covered jar with design of flower maiden, sage, and child amidst flowering plants
Artist Nationality
Japanese
Object Creation Date
circa 1650
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
Japan (nation)
Kyushu-chiho (region)
Saga (prefecture)
Arita
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
Japan (nation)
Creation Place 3
Kyushu-chiho (region)
Creation Place 4
Saga (prefecture)
Creation Place 5
Arita
Dimensions
37.3 cm x 26 cm x 26 cm (14 11/16 in. x 10 1/4 in. x 10 1/4 in.)
Primary Object Classification
Ceramic
Primary Object Type
jar
Secondary Object Classification
Decorative Arts
Physical Description
A medium size, well potted porcelain jar with wooden rid, round shoulder and neck. Floral designs are painted with blue underglaze and red and gold overglaze enamels. There are Chinese scholar and attendant boy with a fan on one side and Japanese lady in kimono on the opposite side, painted with enamels. Band of flowers on the neck, another broader band of chrysanthemums on the shoulder. There is also a band of leaf patterns on the bottom. A large crack from neck to the middle of the body; porcelain glaze has small cracks all over the body. The foot is unglazed; the eye is fully glazed. No glaze on the rim. The teak wood lid, a later addition, has a finial made of an ivory netsuke of laughing Hotei.
Subject Matter
The Chinese sage with an attendant and flower maiden might be T’ao Yüan-ming, celebrated scholar and poet in Tang period. After his early retirement, he lived in his little estate where he planted many chrysanthemums and other flowers, and enjoyed drinking wine. The pot-bellied, half naked man Hotei is one of the “Seven gods of felicity,” the god of contentment and happiness. Partly Taoist and partly Buddhist origin, he is generally identified with the Chinese priest known as Pu-tai Ho-shang. The date is unknown; he is stated to have lived in the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries. He carries a bag which is said to contain “precious things” (takaramono).
Primary Keywords
boy
chrysanthemums
jar
sage (people
Rights
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Technical Details

Record
1972/2.72A&B
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1972-sl-2.72a-amp-amp-sem-b/1972_2.72a_b

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"Covered jar with design of flower maiden, sage, and child amidst flowering plants; Artist Unknown, Imari ware, Japan." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1972-sl-2.72a-amp-amp-sem-b/1972_2.72a_b. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 29, 2024.
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