Vase with Design of Blossoming Plum

International exchange and interchange is something that always has been relevant to the Walters Art Museum collections. In the 21st century our curators are exploring the long history of global interactions in ever more depth and nuance. The design on this Japanese vase, made around the turn of the 20th century, connects to artistic trends seen on three continents.TThe vessel would have comfortably entered into American Arts-and-Crafts-Movement interiors or harmonized with Art Nouveau décor. The plum has long been celebrated in Japan and possesses rich symbolism; here blossoming plum branches decorate the vase in shades of red, pink, and white against a white ground. The innovation in this design includes the flattened and bold linear forms, as well as the geometricized composition of the intersecting branches that borders on abstraction.
At the turn of the 20th century, aware of European modernism, enamelists working at the Ando Cloisonné Company pursued linear designs that emerged from study of natural plant motifs and colors that played off natural vegetable pigments. This vase exemplifies an awareness, and interpretation of, these contemporary art movements.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Acquired by Shirley Z. Johnson, Washington DC; given to Walters Art Museum, 2019.