Artwork
永樂保全筆 「陶造」|Making Ceramics
永樂保全筆 「陶造」|Making Ceramics is an ink painting by the Nihonga artist Eiraku Hozen. It dates from 1820 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The hanging scroll portrays a male artisan actively engaged in the making of ceramics, a scene that directly reflects the work’s title “Making Ceramics.
The hanging scroll portrays a male artisan actively engaged in the making of ceramics, a scene that directly reflects the work’s title “Making Ceramics.” The figure is shown in the act of shaping pottery, emphasizing the physical labor and skill inherent to the craft. By focusing on this occupational activity, the painting underscores themes of creation, mastery, and the reverence for traditional ceramic techniques within the cultural context of early nineteenth‑century Japan. The depiction aligns with the artist’s broader interest in genre scenes that celebrate everyday artistic labor.
Technique & Style
Created in 1820, this work is executed as a hanging scroll utilizing ink and color applied to a paper support. The piece falls within the genre scene classification, depicting a man engaged in the act of work, specifically the making of ceramics. As a painting from Japan, the artist employed traditional East Asian materials to capture the subject matter.
The formal qualities focus on the representation of labor through the medium of ink and pigment on paper, characteristic of the hanging scroll format. The work is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Eiraku Hozen created the hanging scroll 永樂保全筆 「陶造」|Making Ceramics in 1820, using ink and color on paper to depict a man at work, a genre scene produced in Japan. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is recorded under accession number 18.77.2. Sources do not mention a specific commission or earlier owners, so the known ownership chain runs directly from the artist to the Met. The dating and creation details are firmly established by the artwork’s inscription and its catalog record.
Overview
Eiraku Hozen's 1820 painting, titled "Making Ceramics" (永樂保全筆 「陶造」), is rendered in ink and color on paper as a hanging scroll. This work presents a genre scene, capturing an intimate view of daily labor. It specifically illustrates two individuals engaged in the craft of pottery, meticulously shaping wet clay on their respective potter's wheels within a workshop setting.
Artist & collection
