Sake pot, gold lacquer, with hinged semi-circular handle, and three short circular, tapering legs. Silver finial on cover. Decoration consists of gold vines, peonies, and arms of Tokugawa family (three asarum leaves within a circle) on bronze ground. Silver lacquer inside.

Ewer (katakuchi), 17th century

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On View in Gallery 221expand_more

During the course of a formal tea meal (kaiseki), the host may offer his guests sake, an alcoholic beverage made from rice. This is a more intimate procedure than the serving of a bowl of tea, with the host leaving his mat and moving from guest to guest in order to pour sake directly into their lacquered cups. This splendid ewer is decorated with the three-leaf hollyhock crest of the Tokugawa family, which ruled Japan from 1600 to 1868.

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Details
Title
Ewer (katakuchi)
Role
Artist
Accession Number
31.51.34a,b
Curator Approved

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Sake pot, gold lacquer, with hinged semi-circular handle, and three short circular, tapering legs. Silver finial on cover. Decoration consists of gold vines, peonies, and arms of Tokugawa family (three asarum leaves within a circle) on bronze ground. Silver lacquer inside.