Vase

1875 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is one of a pair of vases made by the 2nd generation Seifu Yohei, who succeeded to the family headship on the death of his father in 1861. Although slip (semi-liquid clay) is commonly used on ceramics for decorative purposes, it is rarely employed with such a high degree of skill and sophistication as on this vase. The vases were part of a group of over 200 ceramics bought on behalf of the V&A by the Japanese Exposition commissioners with funds provided by Philip Cunliffe-Owen, an ardent Japanophile who was director of the V&A from 1874 to 1893. The instructions sent to the commissioners were that they should ‘make an historical collection of porcelain and pottery from the earliest period until the present time, to be formed in such a way as to give fully the history of the art.’

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Porcelain with slip-trailed decoration and pale bluish glaze
Brief description
Vase of porcelain, with raised slip-trailed decoration, Seifu Yohei II, Seifu workshop, Kyoto, 1875.
Physical description
Vase of porcelain, with raised slip-trailed decoration of plum tree in blossom
Dimensions
  • Height: 42.1cm
  • Minimum diameter: 15.5cm
  • Maximum diameter: 16.7cm
  • Base diameter: 11.3cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
(On base)
Translation
Made by Seifu of Great Japan
Gallery label
(04/11/2015)
Vase with prunus design
1875

This vase was among a large group of Japanese ceramics bought by the V&A and shown at the Philadelphia International Exhibition of 1876. The purchase was initiated by Philip Cunliffe-Owen, the then director of the Museum and a great enthusiast for Japanese art. His aim was to build ‘an historical collection of porcelain and pottery from the earliest period until the present time to be formed in such a way as to give fully the history of the art’.

Marked ‘Made by Seifū of Great Japan’ for the Seifū workshop
Kyoto
Porcelain with slip-trailed decoration
Museum no. 370-1877
(As at 2005)
PAIR OF VASES
Porcelain with slip-trailed decoration under pale bluish glaze
Mark Dai Nihon Seifu Tsukuru in underglaze blue on base
Kyoto, Seifu workshop
JAPANESE; c.1875
370&a-1877
Object history
Purchased from the Japanese Commissioners for the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, accessioned in 1877. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Subject depicted
Association
Summary
This is one of a pair of vases made by the 2nd generation Seifu Yohei, who succeeded to the family headship on the death of his father in 1861. Although slip (semi-liquid clay) is commonly used on ceramics for decorative purposes, it is rarely employed with such a high degree of skill and sophistication as on this vase. The vases were part of a group of over 200 ceramics bought on behalf of the V&A by the Japanese Exposition commissioners with funds provided by Philip Cunliffe-Owen, an ardent Japanophile who was director of the V&A from 1874 to 1893. The instructions sent to the commissioners were that they should ‘make an historical collection of porcelain and pottery from the earliest period until the present time, to be formed in such a way as to give fully the history of the art.’
Bibliographic reference
Augustus Wollaston Franks and M. Shioda, Japanese Pottery. [London]: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1880. South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks; 18. Catalogue number 212
Collection
Accession number
370-1877

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Record createdNovember 18, 2005
Record URL
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