Sake Bottle with Three Figures (lid)

late 1700s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)

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Medium

porcelain with overglaze enamel and gold decoration

Measurements

Diameter: 14.3 cm (5 5/8 in.); with cover: 27.2 cm (10 11/16 in.); without cover: 24.2 cm (9 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Severance and Greta Millikin Collection 1964.272.b

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Location

Not on view

Description

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.