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
Rights
Public Domain
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.