Height 14.0cm, Outer diameter of mouth 15.5cm, Bottom diameter 9.9cm
Tokyo National Museum
Insei was fond of making water jars shaped as if they were jujubes, and three such jars are extant. Of these, this water jar, which once belonged to Empress Dowager Shoken, is the most outstanding.
The shoulder is clearly marked with a ridge, and the flat mouth is made with the mouth in the center. The body is decorated on all four sides with windows in the kakusa-ma style, each depicting a peony flower.
The silver petals are covered with red, and the veins of the peony leaves are painted by needlework. The ground is overlaid with a water chestnut design in silver, green, red, and gold, giving it the appearance of maki-e (maki-e). The bottom of the jar is shallow and flat with a thin rim, and the clay is visible from the base to the bottom, giving the jar a soft clay taste unique to Ninsei. On the left side of the bottom, there is a large seal stamped “Insei” as on tea pots.
It was presented to the Imperial Household Museum by Empress Dowager Shoken on January 5, 1909, and is now kept at the Tokyo National Museum.
