The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Apothecary's Bottle

Apothecary's Bottle

1670s

Description

This white porcelain bottle is decorated with cobalt blue birds and flowers. While inspired by functional apothecary jars used in medieval pharmacies, this bottle was likely decorative. Its underside has the initials IC, which are almost certainly those of Johannes Camphuys (1634-1695), who was in charge of the Dutch East India Company’s operations in Deshima in 1671. During the Edo period, the Japanese government relegated Dutch traders to the man-made island of Deshima in Nagasaki harbor as a means of preventing European influence on the native population.
  • ?-1966
    Severance A. [1895-1985] and Greta Millikin [1903-1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1966-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1966-present
  • Lerner, Martin. Blue and White: Early Japanese Export Ware. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: cat. no. 45
  • Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 236). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 19-December 24, 2013).
    The Porcelain Connection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 22-August 15, 1982).
    Blue and White: Early Japanese Export Porcelain. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (November 23, 1976-September 6, 1977).
    Blue and White: Early Japanese Export Porcelain. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (November 23, 1976-December 1977).
    Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=Apothecary's Bottle|url=false|author=|year=1670s|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.514