Medicine Bottle
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868) · 1670s · Cleveland Museum of Art
Guide
Adjust the guideNew to it · Medium
Looking for this guide.
From the museum
While inspired by medicine jars used in European pharmacies, this bottle was likely decorative. It may have been exported by the Dutch East India Company, a powerful trading company from the Netherlands. In Japan, it operated from Deshima, a man-made island in Nagasaki harbor created in 1636. The initials “I. C.” appear on the base. As the letter J was often transposed with the letter I in Europe of the 1600s, some scholars believe the bottle may have been made for Johannes Camphuys (1634–1695), who was in charge of the Dutch East India Company’s operations in Deshima in 1671.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
What did you think?
Save this work’s image and museum information on this device to read without a connection.
Ask about this work
Ask in your own words. The answer comes from what the museum has written about the work, and says so when that does not hold it.
Details
- Maker
- Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date
- 1670s
- Medium
- porcelain with underglaze blue decoration
- Dimensions
- height: 41.3 cm (16 1/4 in.)
- Place of origin
- Japan
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · Not on view
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0