Hexagonal Jar
Unknown Artist
late 1600s
Medium
One of a pair; porcelain with overglaze color enamel and gold decoration (Hizen ware, Kakiemon type)
Dimensions
26.8 × 18.6 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection
Accession Number
1964.273.1
About this artwork
This kakiemon-type jar with plum design is a product made for the European markets. Here, Japanese kakiemon potters transformed the typical plum, bamboo, and pine motifs into a theme appreciating the plum. The 9th-century Japanese scholar and politician Sugawara Michizane established the plum as a symbol of scholarship. An excellent poet, particularly of Chinese-style poetry, he was also well known for his love of plum blossoms. Later, the plum came to represent tenmangu, a shrine for Sugawara.