Hexagonal Sake Flask with Designs of Pine, Plum and Bamboo
Original Language Title松竹梅文徳利
CultureJapanese
Date18th century
MediumStoneware with tan crackle glaze and polychrome enamels (Kyoto ware)
DimensionsOverall: 8 1/2 × 3 1/8 inches (21.59 × 7.94 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number32-56/2
On View
Not on viewCollections
Gallery LabelThis bottle was used for serving sake, Japanese wine made from fermented rice. Fine Kyoto wares such as this flask were used in the New Year’s season or served as an auspicious gift for birthdays. It is decorated with designs of pine, plum and bamboo, three felicitous symbols known as the Three Friends of Winter. Pine, often old and gnarled, symbolizes longevity. Plum stands for purity of spirit. Bamboo, easily bent but difficult to break, symbolizes steadfastness and fortitude in the face of adversity.
Yamanaka & Company, New York, by February 1932;
Purchased from Yamanaka & Company, New York, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 1932
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