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Sake Flask
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This flask contained rice wine, or sake. Its wood body was shaped by a lathe before black lacquer was applied to the surface. A red lacquer design of grapevines, an auspicious motif, covers the surface. With their numerous, long-lasting fruits, grapevines traditionally symbolized fertility and longevity in East Asia.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineSake Flask, 1500s. Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573). Black laquered wood with red lacquer; diameter: 24 cm (9 7/16 in.); overall: 30.5 cm (12 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Mitsuru Tajima, 1991.47.2
