Sake Bottle with Three Figures
Unknown Artist
late 1700s
Medium
porcelain with overglaze enamel and gold decoration (Hizen ware, Arita type)
Dimensions
diam. 14.3 cm · with cover: h. 27.2 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection
Accession Number
1964.272
About this artwork
The bottle features three elegantly drawn figures: a beautiful woman, a young man, and a priest. The artist used a fine-haired brush to draw these figures in colored enamel onto the porcelain bottle, which had already been given a clear glaze. A final firing fused the enamel to the form. The name derives from the port of Imari from where Japanese porcelains were shipped to other cities in Japan, China, and Europe.