Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers

Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) Japanese

Not on view

This delicately executed freshwater jar depicts a parade of grasshoppers and wasps, all painted in bright colors. The grasshoppers carry flowers—perhaps stand-ins for weapons or insignia—and accompany an insect cage, evoking the elaborate processions of a daimyo, or feudal lord. The Kyoto-based painter Maruyama Ōkyo (1733–1795) seems to have been the source of the imagery, but there are many other related versions of the theme by his followers. Kōzan, who descended from a long line of Kyoto potters, became popular with Western collectors after exhibiting vessels with high-relief motifs at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.

Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers, Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) (Japanese, 1842–1916), Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels and gold; wood lid and ivory knob (Makuzu ware), Japan

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Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers, Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) (Japanese, 1842–1916), Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels and gold; wood lid and ivory knob (Makuzu ware), Japan
Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers, Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) (Japanese, 1842–1916), Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels and gold; wood lid and ivory knob (Makuzu ware), Japan
Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers, Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) (Japanese, 1842–1916), Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels and gold; wood lid and ivory knob (Makuzu ware), Japan
Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers, Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) (Japanese, 1842–1916), Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels and gold; wood lid and ivory knob (Makuzu ware), Japan
Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers, Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) (Japanese, 1842–1916), Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels and gold; wood lid and ivory knob (Makuzu ware), Japan
Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers, Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) (Japanese, 1842–1916), Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels and gold; wood lid and ivory knob (Makuzu ware), Japan
Freshwater Jar (Mizusashi) with Procession of Grasshoppers, Makuzu Kōzan I (Miyagawa Toranosuke) (Japanese, 1842–1916), Stoneware with polychrome overglaze enamels and gold; wood lid and ivory knob (Makuzu ware), Japan

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